The Reawakening
by Hayley Cometra
Summary: Fifteen years have passed since the War Between the Living and the Dead, and a new age is about to begin. Warning, Chapter One is rated T for minor gore, but the rest of the story is rated Kplus. COMPLETE; Chapter Fifteen arrived! Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

Note: Hi, everyone! I'm back. Yeah, had some major writer's block, and I'm still suffering a little bit of it, but I finally have enough of my mind freed to start writing again. Hopefully, this is will get me back into full spring again. Please note that this is NOT part of my Hayley Cometra series and therefore will not have my OC involved anywhere. However, some new OCs will appear in later chapters.

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli. Also, this plot is particular isn't really mine; it's a plot bunny I adopted from a fellow fan with permission to write it.

* * *

**Chapter One **

He sat alone, which was nothing new for him. He was always alone. He would have been easily seen if it weren't for the undergrowth that was all around him. If he had taken notice of that, he would have found it odd that trees and meadows and bushes surrounded him. But of course, his gaze was always and only ahead.

How long had it been since he found the city again, he neither knew nor cared. He had heard that the Monkey Team was no more, that each of them – one by one – had fallen before the unparalleled might of the resurrected Skeleton King and his army and had surrendered their essences of the Power Primate to one stronger than they. He had heard that even the girl had sold her soul as best as she could against countless Formless soldiers before she too fell. This was a rumor that he could confirm only at a distance outside the city, where he could just barely see the towering Super Robot, unmoving and without life.

And yet he recently heard a rumor that _he_ was still alive.

_He_ who was always the epicenter of his torments, _he_ who humiliated him numerous times, _he_ who had caused him to be replaced twice…_he_ was still alive.

"But not for long," he muttered to himself. "For now, it begins again."

- - - - - - - - -

The gentle breeze tickled his neck, pausing his count. He chuckled but managed to keep his head tucked in his arm as he faced the tree trunk.

"Ninety-seven…ninety-eight…ninety-nine…one hundred! Ready or not, here I come!"

He turned around, his bright blue eyes beginning to search the park. His steps were as silent as they ever have been as he crept on the grass. There weren't many trees and even fewer bushes; not many places to hide. He chuckled quietly as the breeze tickled him again and somewhat tossed his coal-black hair, then went silent again in earnest search.

As he was slowly searching through one of the bushes, a nearby tree rustled very quietly as a smaller figure emerged from the branches. But instead of dropping to the ground, he hung upside-down on the lowest branch using his legs. He snickered, but very little sound came through his mouth to keep his seeker from suspecting.

The very moment the older stopped searching the bush and stood to move on, the younger grabbed his shoulders and screeched. Both jumped in surprise, but the younger was able to keep hanging upside-down on the branch.

The two looked at each other. If it weren't for the facts that the older was more than twice the other's age and that the younger had bright green eyes, a passer-by would've thought these two were clones.

"I sure scared you!" the younger exclaimed happily, laughing.

"Oh, you sure did, Jiro," the older, also laughing, panted in relief. He held up his hands, gently taking the young boy in his arms.

The ten-year-old boy sighed as the blood stopped rushing into his head. "Does this mean I win again, Dad?"

Chuckling, the father hugged his son and placed him onto the grass. "Of course. You win again."

"And that means…"

"All right, all right. I owe you one Hover Burger. Let's go to Mr. Gakslapper's."

"Yeah, all right!" the young one cheered and dashed ahead.

With a happy sigh, the father followed. He could barely make himself believe that he was the same man who was on the verge of depression not that long ago. But to understand this, we must glance at a brief section of Shuggazoom's history: the last fifteen years. (And what I mean by "brief" is the fact that all of this description can be made in another story with its own chapters.)

It had been fifteen years since the climatic clash between good and evil, known to history as the War Between the Living and the Dead. The war consisted of only one battle, but a battle that lasted for hours. And he, Chiro, had led the side of goodness, even though the circumstances were anything but good.

Circumstances had gone downhill since the discovery of the Crystal Skull, which had belonged to the cruel overlord known as Skeleton King. His power had tainted many hearts, including that of his sorceress disciple Valina, who had used the skull's power to resurrect him. When that happened, he had built his fortress, his Castle of Bone, in a matter of seconds and had recreated his Formless army to march upon Shuggazoom City with the full intent to trample everything and everyone.

But Chiro had assembled a rebellion thanks to his call-to-arms. Not only he and the Monkey Team, but also their allies from several other worlds, opposed the undead lord. And yet, the numbers and weapons were clearly in favor of the evil side.

In a way, the battle wasn't quite a horrible as the history books had stated. When a man is using every muscle in his body and every ounce of strength in those muscles, fighting for his life and the freedom of his home, there wouldn't be time for fear or sadness.

But in another way, it was even more horrible than any history book could describe. What made it so horrible was the fact that there were so many Formless that the team couldn't keep the formation he had planned. It turned into a battle where all of them were for themselves. He regretted feeling that there was nothing he could do for his friends; there was always some part of him that felt there could have been.

When the battle was at its worst, Chiro had found himself fighting against Skeleton King himself. They hadn't had single combat against each other since the battle at the Citadel of Bone. That had felt so long ago, for both of them had become stronger since that encounter. Neither of them had wasted precious time and breath with words; Skeleton King wanted to destroy Chiro completely, and Chiro wanted to rid the universe of Skeleton King's evil forever. It was a battle that felt like it lasted even longer than the whole battle actually did.

As this battle continued, there were several moments when Chiro gasped and nearly collapsed. Those moments were not because of any injury from Skeleton King, but because he felt like part of him had suddenly been torn from his body. But each of those moments had been followed with another moment of the exact opposite, when Chiro felt much stronger than before and was able to resume his battle. After the second time it happened, Chiro had suspicions and kept a count; there were five total, each more painful at first and much stronger later than the previous one.

After the fifth one, Chiro felt he could contain himself no longer. Skeleton King had grown weary at that point, and Chiro had had enough. He unleashed his Inner Primate and set himself to finish it. He still suffered many injuries after that point, but he was able to tear the Crystal Skull from the ooze-made body and smash it between his hands.

Without the power from the skull, everything else in the body had shut down except for three: the Ice Crystal of Vengeance had melted under the heat of justice, the Fire of Hate had been put out from the tears of love, and the Soul of Evil had dispersed in the presence of purity. The Alchemist's robe was the only article preserved, for it was a sacred item.

Once the Skeleton King was no more, he gave the signal for any of his friends who were inside the Castle of Bone to immediately evacuate. He wasn't sure if anyone heard him, for he had received no reply, but he didn't think about that. Still keeping the form of his Inner Primate, he ran from the castle's throne room, smashing everything he came in contact with. He kept in mind particularly to destroy any column or pillar that caught his eye.

At the threshold of the castle, he had only ran out the door before he stopped short and gasped at the sight.

There were still about a thousand of the Formless soldiers still standing, which was less than a third remaining after the initial army. The rest of them were nothing but lifeless puddles of ooze. But that was not what had stunned Chiro; what had stunned him were his allies.

Mobius Quint, captain of the _Last Chance_ and Sprx's idol, lay face down with a pale yet triumphant look on his dead face. In his hand was his spear, jammed into one of the puddles of ooze and the ground beneath it. Tiqudo and Nekeeta, the prince and princess of the feline Kathorians, were dead side by side. Their mouths were open and their paws were wide, showing their feral teeth and claws. Offay, Nova's mentor from the dojo on Galaxia, had a soldier's sword impaled into his rock-hard chest. The Sun Riders and Suupa, who was Gibson's friend among the Mega Cyborg Frog Team Super Force, and his teammates were scattered across the battlefield. All of them had fatal wounds all over their armor, and those wounds were caked with blood and ooze. The Sun Riders were also missing their weapons, Johnny Sunspot's gloves, and Super Quasar's helmet. Alliana, the brave warrior girl from Arcadia and the last one alive, was being crushed under the dead weight of a giant Formless monster before she gave a defeated moan and died.

Among all the chaos he saw, he couldn't find the Robot Monkeys…or Jinmay.

It had taken Chiro only one moment to see all of this, and it had also taken just as long for him to understand. No one replied to his signal because there was no one to give a reply. His friends who were his family and the girl who was the love of his life were all dead; the moments of pain and power back in the castle made that clear.

In his rage, he gave a loud scream and slammed both fists onto the ground. He still had his Inner Primate activated, so the fist slam caused its power to ripple into the ground around him. The soldiers ahead of him and the castle behind him trembled at his wrath. The puddles of ooze had dissolved, and the remaining soldiers had melted into puddles before they also dissolved. The castle would have crumbled anyway, but without the support from the missing columns and pillars Chiro had destroyed, it fell even faster. The dust from the implosion surrounded Chiro, but no harm came to him. And anyway, he had been too grieved to care if any did.

When the dust had cleared and Chiro finally had the nerve to look up, what a sight he beheld! All that was evil had gone as if never existed. His allies were still dead, but the wounds on their bodies had been healed, giving them a less pointless and nobler appearance in their deaths. But what was surprised Chiro most was that grass was growing all over. In fact, the Pit of Doom and the entire Zone of Wasted Years had blossomed under the power of the Primate. The Pit of Doom had been renamed as the Valley of Hope, where all of the fallen heroes had been buried; and the Zone of Wasted Years had been renamed as the Prosperous Precinct.

After Chiro and the mayor of Shuggazoom City gave the heroes a proper funeral (they had to have permission from Galaxia for Offay and from Kathori for Tiqudo and Nekeeta), he led a search party to locate Jinmay and the Monkey Team. They scoured the Prosperous Precinct, only to find nothing. Chiro took the Super Robot and searched the Blasted Lands, which he found to his surprise was also affected by his life-giving rage; it had become a valley of pools and meadows, and wildlife was already beginning to settle in that region. He checked the Frozen Seas in the north. The change there wasn't as evident, but it was still changed. Although the region was still frozen, it was the normal kind of cold and not the uninviting kind. He tried Arcane Isle but had spent little time there; the giant monoliths that led to the Netherworld had become merely a formation of standing stones, for that gate to the Dark Ones was closed and locked. He even went into Shuggazoom Bay, but nothing there had changed. None of Skeleton's Kings evil was rooted down in the depths.

And yet, everywhere he investigated, there was no sign of the ones for whom he had searched.

For a long time, Chiro had been depressed. He tried to enjoy the celebrations and holidays made in honor of him, but it just didn't feel like victory without those who were by his side the longest. His last words to them were, "Hyperforce, go!" He would have preferred to be by their side and say something unique to each of them when they would die, or in Antauri or Jinmay's case, go offline.

And now he was alone. Even the Power Primate felt insignificant without the Monkey Team, and even the Super Robot didn't look as super without them. Eventually, Chiro left the Super Robot to be a monument and a memorial. He took residence in a mansion given to him. He was given luxurious things, and butlers, and maids, and cooks; but he enjoyed little of it.

Then, after three or four years of this depression, he met someone. At first, he thought it was Jinmay; she looked something like her. But after a closer inspection, his heart sank. It wasn't Jinmay. Her hair wasn't quite as bright a pink, her eyes weren't quite as soft a green, her giggle wasn't quite as light and merry, her curtsy wasn't quite as smooth and graceful, her… Oh, everything about her wasn't quite like Jinmay's. He wouldn't put it past Sakko that he merely used this young woman's image to copy onto the robot he once controlled.

But she looked enough like Jinmay that it eased Chiro's heart a little. He was a young man now, just entering the prime of his life. In his heart, Chiro knew that if they were still alive, the Monkey Team would have told him they wanted him to live a normal life again. Yes, he had been certain that even Jinmay would've wanted him to move on with life should she ever deactivate. And here was a young woman who greatly resembled the love of his life.

Her name was Myra, and she had loved him as much as he had loved Jinmay. They were soon married and living happily together in the mansion, and shortly afterwards came the news that Myra was pregnant. It looked to Chiro like everything was becoming better.

Then, a curtain of sorrow crashed down on Chiro, and too soon. Myra was giving birth a month before the due date. The premature birth came quickly and without warning. Chiro had little time to get Myra to the hospital, and he stayed by her side every minute while nurses and doctors made a big fuss over her. Finally came the child, a boy with black hair just like Chiro's and green eyes almost like Myra's but more like Jinmay's. But Chiro was just showing his son to Myra when he noticed that her face was pale. The quick and painful birth was too much for the fragile Myra. She, too, had died.

That child was, of course, Jiro running ahead of his father down the streets of the arcade. He looked just like Chiro did at his age, except that he seemed to have Jinmay's soft green eyes. Now that Chiro had been robbed of everyone precious to him, he lived to be sure that his son would have everything he needed and most everything he wanted.

Fortunately, Jiro was well disciplined. He wasn't spoiled or selfish with his wants, even though he knew he was the son of a hero, since history was his favorite school subject. And he was remarkably bright: at the age of seven, he was drawing complex mazes and reading riddle books, but only the "questions" sections and never the "answers" pages. He was also stubborn and stouthearted in his gym class; that became obvious at the age of eight. He was also fascinated with building model airplanes and finding out ways to fly them. Yes, it seemed as if he inherited traits from the whole Monkey Team.

In fact, that was the one thing in life Jiro was lacking: friends. Chiro found out later that none of his school peers would befriend him, not because they thought of him as "high and mighty" to be their friend but because they thought of themselves as "not worthy" to be his friends. They knew their history as well as he.

Chiro sighed with a smile and started to pick up his pace since Jiro had already beaten him to the restaurant that was thirty-five years in the business, and still Mr. Gakslapper had no plans to retire.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter One's Reviews_…

leavingyouforme: I can tell you're a reader for detail. I like that. You're the first and currently only person who noticed that brief section at the beginning.

jinmay-4-ever: Thanks for the compliment, and no, I won't give up on this one. It's too good.

yuki101: Well, here it is.

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: Yes, I'm back. Thanks for your compliment on my series. And yes, I've read your version of the War Between the Living and the Dead. It's very well written.

Netbug009: … … … … Okay, let it be known to all in the monkey team fandom world that I know from past experience that this reviewer is a _**VERY**_ hard person to impress. I am pleasantly surprised and very honored by this review. Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Jiro giggled as he held up his latest work triumphantly, a complete airplane model, although he wasn't sure if he should paint it green in honor of he who built planes and such or red in honor of he who flew them. He tried to decide one way or the other but ended up putting it down, certain he would make his choice later. He looked over at his blue notebook of grid paper, where he was drawing his complex mazes, then at his yellow punching bag, which was really nothing as impressive as a typical punching bag since he was only ten.

But at the moment, none of these interested him. And for good reason; it was well past sundown, a thunderstorm was raging outside, and Jiro was unusually drowsy. It was the beginning of summer, but Jiro couldn't decide for himself if he was feeling hot or cold.

He looked over at his father, sitting in his favorite easy chair next to the blazing fireplace and reading a thick black book. And although he wore a pair of reading glasses, Jiro could easily see that his father's eyes were starting to tear up.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Jiro asked.

"What?" a startled Chiro replied, looking up from the book. He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. "Oh, it's nothing, son. Just the effect from the fireplace."

"What are you reading?"

"It's a Varonite book of philosophy. Antauri gave it to me…on my first birthday with the Monkey Team."

"The year they gave you weird presents?"

Chiro chuckled and closed the book, pulling his son onto his lap. "I wouldn't say they were weird. The Monkeys didn't have a very good idea of the kinds of things I liked, so they made educated guesses. I hadn't been with them very long at that time, less than a year, in fact."

"I think I'm ready for bed, Dad."

Smiling, Chiro carefully stood up, carrying his half-asleep son in his arms as he climbed up the stairway. "Ready to sleep and dream of Monkeys and monsters and battles and adventures? And you'll tell me all about your dreams? Good boy."

He used one elbow to push down the handle and entered the little bedroom, left neat and organized after the maids had been through. His silent steps gliding over the fine carpet, Chiro walked over to a bed of maple wood and a thick mattress. The top of the mattress was filled with down, giving it a luxurious feel. And on the headboard, the Hyperforce emblem was carved into the woodwork. After tucking his son between the white sheets, he quietly left the room and closed the door behind him.

Sighing happily, he stared at the closed door for a few moments. Watching his son grow up, little by little and day by day, brought joy to Chiro unlike any he had ever felt. If only the Monkeys and Jinmay were still alive and with him, that joy would be shared and complete.

Chiro quietly walked down the stairs. One of the butlers had just finished stoking the fire. With a smile, he picked up the unpainted model airplane and the blue notebook, setting them on a nearby coffee table. He then returned to his easy chair, picked up the Varonite book, and continued to read.

He had turned only a few pages when a sound startled him: glass breaking. At first, he thought it was one of the maids who had dropped a dinner plate as some of them do every now and then when they're rushed. But he changed his mind when he realized it came from upstairs. He knew the thunderstorm was raging outside, so he then thought that a branch had been torn off a tree and crashed into the window. He got up and began up the stairs again to inspect the damage and see what he could do to fix it.

He had barely even entered the hallway where the broken window was when he noticed a figure standing in front of the curtain flapping in the wind. He could barely believe his eyes; even though he couldn't see the figure very well, he could tell enough by the size and shape and position who it was.

"You?" he gasped breathlessly. "It can't be…"

"Greetings, Chiro," the voice he hated to hear hissed at him. "It's been a long time…my hairless monkey."

A thunderbolt flashed outside the window, illuminating the hallway for several moments. There, with a glare in the red pupils in his black eyes and a twisted grin on his orange face, stood Mandarin. It wasn't the Mandarin clone, for he was one of Skeleton King's creations that was destroyed all of those years ago. No, this was the original Mandarin, and he wasn't in the grossly muscled and bulky form he had the last time they met, for that was also part of Skeleton King's effect on him, which was also destroyed.

Those facts made Chiro wonder, if only for a brief moment, why Mandarin himself wasn't destroyed.

But that moment quickly passed as Mandarin held up his claws, edging down the hall in his approach.

"There's no need for us to fight, Mandarin," Chiro calmly stated as he took one step back. "Skeleton King is gone."

"So are my brothers…" Mandarin growled in reply. "As is your girlfriend."

If Mandarin had arrived during Chiro's depression or during the first year or two after Myra's death, that statement would have affected Chiro the way Mandarin wanted. But having these experiences and letting go of his hatred, slowly and over time, had strengthened his heart against these taunts.

He only kept a straight frown and stepped back again. If a fight was going to be inevitable, he wasn't sure how long he would last in the fight; true, he was physically stronger now than as a boy, but it had been so long since he used his powers. He wondered to himself if he even had the Power Primate at all anymore.

But nothing could have prepared either of them for the shock both were about to experience. Much to Mandarin's surprise and Chiro's horror, a door in between the two yet closer to Mandarin opened, and out poked Jiro's head. His soft green eyes were droopy as he groggily peeked out to see what all the noise was about, but then they were wide open in the next instant when he saw the unwelcomed visitor. He gasped softly, too scared to move.

"Well, well," Mandarin sneered. "What have we here?"

Chiro dashed for his son's bedroom, but Mandarin was closer and faster. He tackled the young boy, and both rolled into the bedroom. There was a very brief scuffle, but Mandarin managed to pin Jiro against his chest, one of his arms keeping both of the boy's down to his sides and his paw covering the boy's mouth, and force him to his feet before Chiro even entered the room.

"Let him go, Mandarin," Chiro threatened. "Your fight is with me."

"Typical," Mandarin jeered. "Nobility always was your weakness. Your attempt at self-sacrifice will not help you this time, Chiro, nor will it save the child."

Believing that Mandarin was going to kill him very quickly, Jiro barely gave any thought to what he was doing before actually doing it. He struggled and freed his head enough to bite the paw that covered his mouth. Mandarin screeched painfully but managed to keep his grip. Jiro tried to struggle and shove his elbows into Mandarin's chest, but the monkey, although slightly smaller, was much stronger than he looked.

Chiro ran forward to take Mandarin in both hands and force him to let go of his son. But the moment Mandarin realized he made a slight misjudgment of what he was facing, he levitated backwards, taking Jiro in tow, and held up his free hand to Jiro's window. It immediately smashed under his telekinetic command, and all of the broken glass scattered outside. He then took Jiro and fled.

"Dad!" Jiro screamed, his voice fading quickly behind the rain and thunder.

Chiro ran to the window and looked out, but Mandarin and his son had already disappeared in the storm.

* * *

The next morning, Chiro was outside the mansion with one of his friends: Teela, Captain of Shuggazoom's police force. She was almost ten years older than he, yet both of them had started in their new lives at about the same time: Chiro with the Hyperforce, Teela with the police.

He didn't see much of her in his younger days because the Hyperforce dealt with only emergencies beyond what the police could handle, such as the monster attacks and the Formless invasions. Teela and the police enforced the law and captured the criminals of the more civilized nature such as burglars, saboteurs, and murderers. The only time their missions coincided was when the Hyperforce sought documentations from Teela, who was a sergeant at the time, to declare Gyrus Krinkle legally insane.

But since the War Between the Living and the Dead, Chiro had faded into the background and allowed Teela and her squadron to take over.

After Chiro showed her the side of the house where the two damaged windows were, Teela's sergeants had the whole yard roped with yellow tape. Inside the space, they examined the windows, the wall, the trees, and the grass. But they discovered what Chiro already knew; that Mandarin did not use any weapons to break the windows, that there were no claw marks on the wall or the trees for his entrance, and that there were no footprints left behind during his escape.

"Chiro, despite the amount of evidence pointing the other way, I know you well enough to know that you are telling the truth," the police captain told him while the sergeants were still searching. "I know you would never do anything to harm your son. My entire squadron is at your disposal, and the civilians are already volunteering in searching the city; Shuggazoom will not rest until Jiro is safe."

"Thank you for your generosity, captain," Chiro began, "but I think a smaller party has a better chance at recovering Jiro. There's no telling what Mandarin will do to him if he sees the entire squadron going his way."

"Do we have an idea where Mandarin could have taken him?"

He sighed and thought for a minute. "Most likely somewhere far, someplace deserted. So he can goad me into meeting him alone…"

* * *

Deep in the heart of the Prosperous Precinct, Mandarin levitated across the plains and into the forest before he finally stopped at a cave. He still had Jiro tucked under his arm, but the boy had long fallen asleep both from the excited fear of what happened and from fatigue in trying to escape. Neither of them really knew where they were, but Mandarin wasn't going to take any chances of Chiro following him, at least not right away.

The cave they went through was remarkably warm inside, which made Mandarin more curious than he had ever felt. The shivering Jiro was cold and wet from the rainfall, and although Mandarin cared nothing for this young boy, it wouldn't do him well if Jiro would be ill when Chiro finds them.

He found what seemed to be a large purple cloth on the cave floor. He picked it up, discovering that it was more than large enough to make a suitable blanket for both of them if they needed to share it, but the idea of sharing was absurd to him. Instead, he took the cloth and wrapped it around the young boy a few times, still pinning the arms down but making it a little more comfortable. Slowly, Jiro stopped shivering, but he did sneeze several times.

Mandarin decided to take the opportunity to rest himself. Jiro was fast asleep. Even if he did manage to free himself from the cloth in which he was wrapped, they were deep enough inside the cave to make it confusing which way was out. And even if he did get out, the cave was inside unfamiliar territory. He knew Jiro was too young to have left Shuggazoom City, even with an escort.

The odds of this boy escaping were next to nothing. Mandarin was certain of that as he fell asleep.

* * *

Chiro didn't find it odd to receive a call from Captain Teela that early afternoon, but he did that she had asked him to meet her at the Museum of Shuggazoomian History.

He would have felt awkward about visiting this place. The first time he made a visit could have most likely been his last because of the Curator. But right after that incident, the museum was shut down for three years. And after all of the artifacts belonging to the Curator were removed, including the bewitched organ, it had opened up again and became a prosperous wealth of historical knowledge for the whole city.

It was Jiro's favorite place to visit on school field trips, especially the exhibits involving the Hyperforce. Chiro had donated most of the items inside the Super Robot to the museum, including his bedroom décor, before leaving the Super Robot. He had rather enjoyed going into this museum on father/son outings and showing him what was his.

The museum was closed, but Captain Teela and the new curator were waiting for him at the door. The curator opened the door and let both of them in, and Captain Teela led Chiro to the Hyperforce exhibits.

Once they were in, the curator left the pair alone.

"Yes, Captain?" Chiro asked.

Captain Teela sighed. "As of yet, we've had no sighting of Mandarin or Jiro. They are nowhere in the city. I am preparing a small search-and-rescue party to investigate the Valley of Hope and the Prosperous Precinct, but I have to tell you that without any trail for us to follow, the chances of us finding them are very slim."

Chiro sighed and hung his head.

"There is, however, another way," the captain continued. She held up what looked like a big black jewelry box with the white and cyan colors of the Hyperforce embelm.

Curious, Chiro slowly took the box from her hands and stared at it. He wasn't sure what would be inside, but his doubts made him hesitate. However, his curiosity overpowered his fear, so he slowly undid the silver lock on the box and opened it.

The instant he saw what was inside, he slammed the box lid shut. "You must be joking."

The captain kept a serious frown. "Was there ever a time I spoke with you that I was joking? The scientists here in the museum have studied this. They have found that it's still functional. And you know more about Mandarin than any of us."

"Captain, it's been fifteen years. All of the evil in this world is perished. The Power Primate is gone. … The Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce…is no more."

"If that was true, you wouldn't still be alive. Chiro, fifteen years ago, you made all the difference. You established the Hyperforce without meaning to. Now, I may not know much about this…Power Primate, but I do know that something so good would not die so easily. You, who made all the difference, are still alive."

Chiro thought about it for several silent minutes. Could it be possible? Could it actually work? Could he really carry on alone?

"This is huge…" he whispered.

"I understand," the captain replied. "And this is something not asked lightly. You should give yourself some time to think about it, but remember…the more time we spend here, the smaller the chance of capturing Mandarin and recovering Jiro."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

Note: From this point on, lines separate scenes and x's separate flashbacks from the rest of the scene.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Two's Reviews_…

OrangeChima: Wait no longer! It is revealed here.

4Evermonkeyfan: Wow! I've captured another person who is hard to impress! I knew when I adopted this plot bunny that this was going to be good, but I didn't expect it to be THIS good!

leavingyouforme: I hoped I hadn't made Mandarin too obvious. I hate giving things away too soon, but I also like writing details. It makes the image alive in my mind, like I'm watching it on TV. And that's a good guess…but you're wrong.

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: Yes, this story is coming along much faster than most of my others do! I'm really excited about this!

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Mandarin awoke with a start. He shot to his feet, expecting his prey to make a futile escape. But he found Jiro right where he laid him.

In fact, Jiro woke him up another way. He was coughing now and moaning lightly. Mandarin started to get the feeling that Jiro was starting to become ill from being in the freezing downpour last night. He growled lightly; he mustn't let Jiro die.

But the Orange Monkey hesitated the very instant that thought crossed his mind. For a moment, a brief moment, it sounded to himself as if he actually cared.

_"That can't be so,"_ he reasoned to himself. _"I merely need him alive and well to bait Chiro. He's useless to me dead. It's not like I really care if he lives or dies. He will eventually die, anyway."_ Even so, he made sure he was gentle in lifting the boy and carrying him further into the cave.

He found to his surprise that although they were traveling deeper, the tunnel wasn't getting any darker. If anything, it was in fact becoming brighter. He soon discovered why: there was another opening in the cave network.

Certain that this would lead to another part of the forest that would throw Chiro off his trail, he went through the cave exit.

He stopped short when he did arrive at the other side. He did emerge in forests, but this was quite different from the one from which he left. He didn't remember this jungle being anywhere on the charts of Shuggazoom's geography.

Cautiously, he lowered himself and Jiro down the rocky cliff that supported the cave exit. He found a fresh water stream and a tree with fruit in its branches, fruit that resembled the look of coconuts. After carefully laying Jiro next to the cliff, he levitated into the branches and used his mind power to knock the ripe fruits out of the tree. There were some that weren't quite ready yet, but seven or eight ended up falling.

Jiro woke up by this time. He felt much warmer than he was earlier, and was actually warmer than he liked. He tried to wiggle his way out of the cloth, but Mandarin had it tucked in just right: very snug to keep him from getting out, but not tight enough to cut off his circulation. Though he was awake, he couldn't see very well in his heat exhaustion, so he simply waited for something to happen.

After a while, his vision got clearer, and he watched just as Mandarin was able to carefully crack the shell on one of the rock-hard fruits. Just like coconuts, there was both fruit and a milky juice inside.

At first, Jiro couldn't make himself believe it when Mandarin held up the rind that had more juice in it to his mouth. But then he found he was too thirsty to think about that. He leaned forward a little and began to carefully sip. His taste buds had been expecting orange juice or chocolate milk at this time of day, so he was mildly surprised to taste the thin yet rich flavor that was something like both. But he was grateful to even be alive. Of course, he didn't know how long that would last, but he would rather take his blessings where he could find them.

When Jiro managed to drink all of the juice in several small sips, Mandarin put down the rind and picked up the other one for his drink. He finished his much faster, though he wished afterwards that he didn't; drinking faster wasn't as thirst quenching as taking it in sips. But what he found even more annoying was when he saw his prisoner again.

The most annoying things that would bother you while being a prisoner were often the little things. A drop of the juice was on the face of Jiro's chin, where he could neither reach it with his tongue nor wipe it with the cloth he was wrapped in, and it was tickling him.

With an exasperated groan, Mandarin slowly approached Jiro and wiped the drop off with his paw, careful not to scratch him with any of his claws. He then took the rind that he used to give Jiro his drink. "Can you eat?"

Slowly and warily, the boy nodded in reply.

Mandarin then began to scratch at the inside of the rind with his forefinger's claw, cutting out a medium-sized chunk of the fruit and placed it in between Jiro's teeth. He was very careful to do this slowly; he didn't want to risk Jiro biting him again.

After giving him a second piece, Mandarin found that he was bored with this task. The very idea made him look like a babysitter. So to pass the time away so he could think less of such a demeaning task, he decided to strike up a conversation. "What is your name, boy?"

The boy was still chewing his second piece, which was smaller than the first. But, remembering his manners, he waited until after he had swallowed before answering. "Jiro."

"Jiro…how original…" Mandarin muttered.

"And your name is Mandarin," Jiro immediately replied.

A little surprised, Mandarin looked at him. If both of them were standing, Mandarin would have had to look up a little because the boy was barely taller than him. But as it is, with him standing and the boy seated, they were at eye-level.

Knowing he had his captor's attention, Jiro gave a very small smile. "You used to lead the Monkey Team, then became Skeleton King's lackey. Dad told me all about you in his bedtime stories."

The Orange Monkey chuckled lightly. "Well, I can assure you that every detail in all of those stories is true."

"I'm not too sure about that," Jiro answered thoughtfully. "You don't look half as bad as he described you, at least as far as appearances go. I'm not sure if that's because Dad exaggerated a little bit like he sometimes does in his stories or if you have improved your appearance since you last saw him. Both are just as likely. Maybe it's even a combination of both."

Mandarin scowled at him for the idea, but he couldn't help wondering himself if he had changed any over the last fifteen years.

* * *

Chiro sighed again as he stared up at the outside of the Super Robot. The area surrounding it had been declared off-limits years ago, after he left it, but Captain Teela granted him access for this special reason. But looking at it didn't really inspire anything in Chiro. It looked as old and lifeless as it did when he first saw it in the outskirts of the city.

He would have turned back right then, but he knew that the police weren't making much progress in the search. Even if nothing came out for trying this, at least Chiro couldn't say that he did nothing in helping. So he walked up to the door of the Foot Crusher Cruiser Six. He was quite certain that his Power Primate essence was either gone or severely depleted; in either case, he didn't even try to automatically open the door. He walked up to the side and opened a panel. Inside the panel was a lever attached to a crank. It looked much like a bicycle pedal would, and it worked the same way as well when he began turning it. _Click, click, click_ went the lever, and _creak, creak, creak_ went the door.

Have you ever had an automatic garage door where the machinery that opened the door for you wouldn't work, so you had to manually open it? Imagine that garage door being three times as big and ten times as heavy, and also imagine that the manual operation was so old that it looked like it would break during the next turn. That was Chiro's situation, and when he finally managed to open the door enough to let him in before it would close behind him, both his right hand and his right arm were very sore.

Inside was pitch black, so he brought out a flashlight that he had in his pocket. Ahead, he could see the six colored elevators with which he and his teammates had long used to get to wherever they needed to go. But there was no power being supplied anywhere inside, so he had to take the stairs.

_"I hate stairs…"_ he thought to himself as he began the ascent. _"I don't know why I'm doing this anyway…"_

Climbing up the seemingly infinite flight of spiral stairs up the leg of the Foot Crusher Cruiser Six was bad enough for Chiro, but the entire leg was hollow, so he could see the flight of stairs above and beyond him, and he could also see the lightless elevators in the center. He glared enviously at those elevators time and time again.

It seemed like hours before he reached first door, which wasn't the door he wanted. He was tempted to go through anyway, if only to be rid of the stairs, but he stopped himself at the right moment. How surprised he was that even though he hadn't been in the Super Robot for years, he still remembered the layout of it like the back of his hand. This would lead him all the way back down, only this time to the Foot Crusher Cruiser Five.

Turning away from the door, he climbed and passed several doors before reaching the one he wanted. His legs were hot and sore and his right arm was only beginning to recover, so he all but stumbled into the Command Center.

* * *

"But there's one thing I want to know that the stories never explained," Jiro continued. "Why did you betray the team and join Skeleton King?"

Snarling, Mandarin came right up to Jiro's face and shoved another piece of fruit into his mouth. "He was the master. Do I need another reason?"

Unafraid, Jiro blinked, chewed, and swallowed. "Yes. Because when you say 'master', you say it like you were bought at a price to be his slave. But you went in willingly. Why?"

Mandarin hesitated. He determined that this child was somewhat narrow-minded. "Do you know who Skeleton King was before he became Skeleton King?"

"Yes. He was a man of science and magic, strong with noble goodness. He was a hero."

"He was my father."

Jiro nodded. "When you look at it that way, yes. He created you and made you as you are today. But I don't see what that has to do with what you did."

"Don't see?" Mandarin growled. "What a very narrow mind you have. He was my _father_. I _had_ to obey. We _all_ had to and yet _they_ didn't, so _they_ were the betrayers, not I."

"Look who's talking. Skeleton King himself declared that he and his human self were two different people."

"Even if that were true, I believed that obeying Skeleton King was the same as obeying my father."

"And now you don't anymore?" Jiro asked.

Mandarin gave him a confused glare.

"You said 'believed'. You used the past tense. That means you don't anymore."

Now deeply offended, Mandarin slapped Jiro's cheek, though he was still careful not to scratch him. "Who are you to say what I said when I said it?"

"You said it, I didn't."

"Watch how you speak to me, boy!"

"Tell me, Mandarin: how did Skeleton King pay you back for your loyalty? Hmm? You did everything he demanded of you, none of it was good enough, he degraded you, and yet you still worship him even after he's been dead fifteen years."

"If you won't be silent, I will put you unconscious with my Monkey Mind Scream! Do you understand me?"

At that point, Jiro did shut up, not because he was afraid of the mind-numbing attack but because he was already tired with illness and he would rather not wake up with a splitting headache.

* * *

Like outside, the Command Center didn't look very commanding to Chiro. And it wasn't just because it was dark from lack of light. Dust covered dust on the control panels. The monitor with the white and blue emblem was closed in solemn silence. And the six chairs looked smaller than he remembered.

Chiro felt like he was going to cry. He never in his life imagined that the Super Robot would look like this. He walked over, very slowly, to the main control panel. But before he could press any buttons, his exhausted legs collapsed from underneath him and he broke out into bitter sobs.

"Oh, Super Robot," he wept, although he had no intention to speak at all. "Do you remember when we brought Thingy aboard from Ranger Seven and everything in here was going berserk?"

His voice echoed in the empty Command Center, his weeping becoming quite pitiful.

"Do you remember us crashing on Tolomac Three and the giants living there thought you were a square-headed knight?"

In the stillness of the room, there was no comfort found anywhere. His voice became more desperate.

"Do you remember when you moved on your own for the first time and you became more than just a machine? Do you remember the Monkey Team? Do you…remember _me_?"

He knelt there, continuing to cry for five minutes. He would have kept on if he wasn't so exhausted and if he had any tears left to cry after sweating from opening the door and climbing the stairs.

Then he heard a sound. In the utter silence, it came clearer than any bell. It was also one of the smallest sounds he ever heard in his life…_beep_. Confused, he held his head up and looked around. Nothing seemed to be any different in the Command Center, and yet he almost knew that something had changed.

Then…_blip-blip_. He looked over at the control panels and squinted his eyes. He wondered to himself if one of the lights just blinked.

Then…_beep blip-blip_. Now he was certain that a light blinked. A small smile crept on his face as more lights flickered on and off.

Then…_beep blip-blip, beep blip-blip, beep blip-blip…_ And right before Chiro's eyes, activity in the Command Center was just like a ripple on a still water surface: so small at first, but then how fast it grows. And a thrill within Chiro was growing just as fast. If there would have been music all around him, he would've imagined something slow yet dramatic, like the first sensation he felt when he first saw Antauri alive as the Silver Monkey.

The control panels lit up; though they were still dusty, they didn't look half as dreary. The monitor came apart down the center of the emblem, and the screen lit up to display several areas of the city. And behind Chiro, one light turned on. It was the centermost of the overhead lights on the ceiling. Usually it was on with the other lights, but Chiro had the feeling that the Super Robot, now as alive as it ever had been, was trying to tell him something. So he slowly stood up and turned around, since his excitement was overpowering the fatigue in his legs and right arm.

The one light was shining on the centermost chair…his chair. Oh, what fond memories associated with that chair flooded back to him. But he gave a little chuckle and said, "I'm going to have to redesign that chair if I'm going to sit in it, Super Robot. It's much too small for me now."

Almost as if in response to that statement, all of the other lights in the Command Center came on. Emotions such as Chiro hadn't felt in a long time wakened within him, making him feel like he hadn't changed much in the last decade or so, feel like he was thirteen years old again, feel like he was himself again.

He then reached into his pocket and took out the black box that Captain Teela gave him and opened it. He smiled as he looked at the object inside. "If I can wake you up, Super Robot, after all these years, then maybe…just maybe…"

Slowly and carefully, he pulled out the object: his old communicator. He pinned it onto the left side of his shirt, near his heart. He was surprised when he first saw it how it had not rusted the slightest. With a swift swing of his arm, he touched the device. And suddenly, his body remembered the old move.

He never knew whose voice it was that echoed the words, "The Power Primate," in his mind, but he heard that voice and those words once again. If he had his eyes open, he would have seen his clothes transforming. But he knew it was happening, because the transformation was, as it always had in the past, tickled every inch of his body. He couldn't help but chuckle this time, since he had forgotten how much it tickled; perhaps later in the future, he would learn to ignore the sensation as he did in the past.

When the feeling had passed, he looked at the nearest metal wall. True, it wasn't a decent mirror, but it still displayed his reflection. Although he didn't look quite the same as he once did before because his legs and arms were now longer and his chest was now broader, he was in Hyper Mode once again. Old memories, old battles came back to him. He was no longer Chiro the citizen anymore; he was Chiro the leader of the Hyperforce once again. And it didn't matter to him now that he didn't have a team to lead anymore. He was still a leader. And now he had the Super Robot again to help him.

He looked up at the huge monitor and gave one of his serious leader-like glares. "Let's go rescue my son."

_

* * *

_

"Surrender," the Mandarin clone sneered at his opponent. "The battle is over. Your brothers and your allies have fallen, and you are the only one left. Skeleton King has triumphed."

"_For the good of Shuggazoom, I will never surrender!"_

"_How droll. Bravado in the face of death."_

_The two leapt at each other, both of them barely aware of their actions. That was not so unusual in the clone's case, but his opponent who was usually calm and placid was so angry at him. Perhaps he wanted to pay back the evils that befell one of his brothers. Or perhaps he wanted to pay back the evils he himself had done when the clone invaded the Super Robot._

_After about thirty minutes of this nonstop battle, the clone ended up pinning his opponent down. But this wasn't because he had overpowered him. His opponent became distracted just moments earlier, distracted because something inside of him told him that Chiro was on the verge of getting killed. He had no choice but to do what the others already did instinctively._

_He allowed the Mandarin clone to climb on top of him. He allowed that paw of bone to rip off his helmet and tear at his head. And the more his circuitry malfunctioned due to the damage, the greater his pain became and the louder he screamed before finally, he summoned all but a very little of his Power Primate and ejected it._

_In reaction, his body went limp, seeming as if it would never move again._

x x x x x x x x x

But it was moving. Just a little at first, and only on the inside. Gears were turning, pistons were thrusting, but before even all that, something else stirred inside of him. Something familiar.

His ocular interface finally activated. He had half-expected to find himself lying down outdoors on the ground of a stained battlefield. He was mildly surprised to discover that he was somewhat erect in a chamber that looked very much like his recharging chamber and tied up against it. Quickly glancing around the unfamiliar room with three metal walls and one glass wall, he only found one figure he recognized, unconscious on a table; the rest of the room was empty except for more tables and more chambers.

He wasn't too concerned. Since he knew he could free himself at any given moment, he reasoned that the best he could do was wait for something to happen that could yield valuable information.

He didn't have long to wait. Hearing something approaching, he deactivated his ocular interface to make it look like he was still inactive.

Relying on his sense of hearing, he made an educated guess of what was going on around him. Judging by the muffled whirring noise, the thing that was approaching must be some kind of machine outside of the room. He heard a _click_ (most likely some type of lock), then a long _cre-e-e-e-eak_ (most likely some type of door). Then, the whirring noise continued for a few moments before it split into a few different sources, and one came quite close to him. Then _CLANK_! The sudden sound almost made him flinch in surprise, but thankfully he didn't even twitch. Then _clank_,_ clank_, _clank_! The whirring noise resumed, growing fainter. Then, the long _cre-e-e-e-eak_ and the _click_. Soon after that, the muffled whirring noise was gone.

After waiting a few moments to be certain he wouldn't attract attention, he reactivated his ocular interface. There, in front of him and with one near his position, lay four familiar figures deactivated on the tables, looking as if they had been dropped somewhat roughly.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

Note: Please remember that lines separate scenes from each other while x's separate flashbacks from the rest of the scene.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Three's Reviews_…

OrangeChima: Yes, this is new for him. I've been having a little difficulty keeping him in character while exploring something new, but I think I pulled it off.

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: (giggle) I like that you're excited. It's making me excited. And it's not really so much of a question if it is the Monkey Team (because of the flashback) as it is a question of who awoke first…

leavingyouforme: Part of it will be explained here. But I'm impressed that you haven't forgotten that. That's a trait of a good reader.

4Evermonkeyfan: Yes, that is hard to imagine about him, isn't it, since we know very little of Mandarin when he was once good.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

_"Many years ago, we were brothers…"_

"_Spare me the false inspirational evil speech, Mandarin! You make me sick!"_

_The two combatants said little else worth mentioning, but there could hardly be any single battle that could be more vicious than this. He certainly wasn't going to let the Mandarin clone get away with how he had treated him just hours ago…treated him like he was one of them. He was going to make every attack, even every move, pay back for what both of them had done._

_Within five blurred-out minutes, it was over for them._

_When the clone had his opponent on top of him, he sneered. "It's over. You are the first to fall, and you will not be the last. Already the boy has entered the castle, so eager to embrace the chaos…and so eager to embrace his own doom."_

"_Chiro…" the pinned monkey gasped in shock. "No!" Reacting only on instinct and without knowing it, he did the one thing he didn't ever dream of doing._

_Immediately, his body went limp._

x x x x x x x x x

The next thing he knew, a light was blinding him. He groaned and flinched, but he found to his surprise that his head couldn't move. Something was locked behind it. At first, this puzzled him, and he was almost afraid that Mandarin was trying something sneaky from behind.

But when he heard a familiar series of beeps, he calmed down.

When the thing locked behind his head was removed, he groaned and turned around. "Did you happen to get the license number on the spaceship that ran me over?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled in dizziness.

"No time for frivolity, Sprx," he reviver replied. "We must activate the others."

* * *

Jiro shivered again, so much that he found himself actually wiggling to get himself deeper into the cloth that held him prisoner rather than trying to escape it. He felt cold all over, except his head, which was burning hot to the touch. He wanted to go home more than ever. But looking over at his captor, he knew that Mandarin would never let him.

Mandarin looked back at his prisoner. He certain now Jiro was ill, probably with something serious. He now had to play his hand carefully. If Chiro could catch up to them and see his son sick, he would be more likely to do whatever Mandarin demanded. But Jiro was no good to him dead either.

He needed to play his hand very carefully indeed.

Mandarin felt embarrassed, to say the least. He hadn't needed to take care of the ill or the injured since…

"_No,"_ he thought to himself, trying to force the thought out of his mind. _"I mustn't think of it. It was far too long ago."_ Although he did admit to himself he found it odd that it would bother him at all, now of all times.

"Mandarin…"

Frustrated, the monkey looked at Jiro and growled, "What is it now, boy?"

"I have to go."

"All right, but be certain you give your father my regards," Mandarin sneered.

Jiro furrowed his eyebrows. "No, I mean, I have to _go_. To the bathroom."

Mandarin sighed and closed his eyes, desperately trying to keep from losing his temper.

Soon, however, both discovered that Jiro's needs were the least of their problems. A low, deep rumbling sound quietly trembled the trees and bushes around them: a growl.

Instinctively, Mandarin slowly edged closer to Jiro. He was not going to lose his precious cargo now.

_

* * *

_

Seeing Sprx fall infuriated him, so he quickly dealt with his current foe and charged straight for Mandarin's clone. They only just got him back, and he was the last one to want the team falling apart again.

_The clone sneered and held his paw up, grabbing him just below the wrist and throwing him off. He may have had his claw drilled off, but his skill in single-handed combat wasn't handicapped even a little. With a low, evil chuckle, he looked at his new opponent and leapt high, tackling him down._

"_You're too late to save your friends," the clone sneered at him. "You're too late to save even yourself. The full power of the Dark One resides in the Master now! And when he unleashes it on the boy and the planet, there will be nothing of your pathetic way of life!"_

"_Chiro?" his opponent gasped in shock. He then snarled and began kicking, frantically trying to get the clone off of him._

"_Such a pity," the clone replied. "You were once my closest ally." He grabbed his opponent's neck, beginning to choke him._

_But in the desperation of his dilemma, the Robot Monkey found focus and strength within him that he didn't know. He wasn't even sure what was happening, but he somehow knew just before falling limp that everything would be all right._

x x x x x x x x x

He groaned as his senses came back to him. Slowly getting to his feet while the reactivation tool removed from him, he shook his head somewhat wildly. "Whoa…" he moaned lightly. "That was weird."

Then, he looked around before looking behind him. "What's going on?"

"Otto, attend to Jinmay."

* * *

"What's that?" Jiro whimpered.

"Silence," Mandarin whispered harshly when the growl came again. It was much closer this time. The fur on his back began to bristle.

If he had his gloves or even his old armor, he wouldn't have been worried at all. But Skeleton King had robbed him of these before injecting his body with the ooze that grossly enhanced his body. And he couldn't just start destroying the trees telekinetically; if his aim wasn't true, it might provoke whatever was stalking them.

Finally, he heard what he was straining to hear: _snap_! A twig! But it didn't come from around them; it came from above.

Mandarin snapped his head upwards, his gaze searching the tree where they took shade from the sun. Immediately, a large black figure came down from among the branches with a yowl. Mandarin shoved Jiro aside in time for both to avoid the pounce.

The pair rolled among the leaves. When they lost their momentum, they looked up into the hungry glare of a black panther.

They could only look at it for a moment before the wild cat launched into another pounce. Mandarin was able to jump away, but he had forgotten his prisoner this time. Trapped in the purple cloth that had been keeping him warm, Jiro could only roll a few feet away before he found himself hunched up in a little miserable ball in the panther's jaws like a very young kitten held in its mother's mouth. The panther began to shake Jiro with its head. It was a marvel that the cloth didn't rip.

Then, wonder of wonders, among the blurry scene around him, Jiro could see an orange something darting in. In the next moment, the head stopped shaking, and the jaws loosened their grip. Mandarin was using sheer strength to pry open the mouth. Jiro dropped onto a bed of leaves, and Mandarin used telekinesis to lift the boy to a place out of the pounce range. He then scratched the inside of the mouth, making the panther roar in pain. Freed, Mandarin clawed at its eyes, making it flinch.

Mandarin then rejoined with Jiro.

"Thank you," Jiro told him in a voice trembling with fear.

"Don't misunderstand me, boy," Mandarin scoffed. "I did not rescue you because I care. You are more valuable to me alive than dead."

"Look out!"

Mandarin turned and saw that the panther was not yet subdued. Snarling again, it began dashing towards them.

"**Monkey Mind Scream**!" he screeched, emitting the sonic attack from his mouth.

Startled, the panther stopped in its tracks and made a horrifying caterwaul. Its ears flattened, trying to block out the intense sound.

Jiro was now able to wiggle only one arm free, and he did the only sensible thing to do. He gently placed his hand on Mandarin's shoulder. "Mandarin!" he shouted over the earsplitting attack. "Don't kill it! It's not evil! It's only hungry by nature!"

For a moment, it seemed like Mandarin wasn't going to listen to him. Then something happened, and Mandarin stopped. The panther shook its head, trying to shake off the dizziness. Snarling and whimpering, it turned away and fled, half running and half stumbling.

Jiro blinked in surprise.

Mandarin turned to look at him and tucked Jiro's free arm back into the cloth. "We are not safe here. We must find a place in the jungle where we can take refuge."

"We?"

The monkey hesitated but frowned. Instead of replying, however, he lifted Jiro again with the power of his mind and carried him deeper into the jungle.

_

* * *

_

The situation was not looking good at all. Two of his brothers had fallen already, and he caught a quick glance that Jinmay wasn't faring well, either. Their allies began losing their own, too. Not good at all.

_He prepared to attack one of the larger Formless when he was kicked down from behind. Not particularly surprised at whom he was about to fight, he got up and turned around, ready to counterattack._

_The clone chuckled and began slicing his claws left and right, his contender barely dodging one attack after another. He lost his balance and fell backwards, making him very wide open to the Mandarin clone, who used every opportunity at his disposal._

_Badly beaten and bruised in a matter of minutes, he couldn't find the strength to get up as the half-blind clone stared down at him. "Face it," he hissed at him._

"_Never!" he replied to the clone._

"_You of all people should know the odds of survival and victory. You could have joined us, and you will not live to regret not doing so. Face your destiny and your defeat. The same as your precious boy has already."_

"_No!" he screamed. Defying all logic, he summoned every single scrap of courage and strength he had left. He was trying to force the Mandarin clone off of him, but something else happened._

x x x x x x x x x

Moaning lightly, Gibson cleared his mind of the battle, since there was obviously no battle here. He slowly looked over at he who wakened him. "Antauri?" he asked, a little puzzled.

Instead of answering, the Silver Monkey looked over to where Sprx was reactivating Nova.

* * *

Mandarin stopped and gently placed Jiro down.

"It appears to be some sort of facility," Mandarin stated as they approached the stairs. "We will take refuge here. This building is in the middle of nowhere, and a wild animal would have to be remarkably clever to open human-made doors."

Upon the top of the stairs, the two discovered that the doors were locked in a unique way. Next to the doors were two machines. One was almost above Jiro's eye-level and had an imprint of a human hand. The other was slightly smaller, similar in shape, and hardly noticeable, but the imprint in it was different from a human hand; it was skinnier and had only four fingers.

Hardly knowing what he was doing, Mandarin placed one paw on the imprint and found that it fit perfectly.

Just then, the machine he touched came to life, and the doors opened in reaction.

Jiro looked at Mandarin with a smirk. "Remarkably clever, huh?" he teased, repeating what Mandarin had said.

Snarling lightly, the monkey replied, "I said 'wild animal'."

"So?"

Groaning, Mandarin floated into the room, taking the boy with him.

After a few minutes of them levitating through the dark interior, Mandarin noticed a door with a familiar symbol. Knowing what it meant, he looked at Jiro again, who was now whimpering in slight pain.

The monkey sighed. "Very well, _go_, but don't take long," he groaned, unwrapping the cloth around the boy rather fast. A little too fast; Jiro's legs had been kept from moving so long that he fell onto the floor when he was free, and the cloth had kept him warm enough that he wished he was wrapped in it again. But his needs were greater than his wants, so he walked into the door.

Mandarin had wanted to follow him to be certain he wouldn't stay inside to avoid him. But now, something deep inside him…trusted Jiro?

The thought had only just come to him and he was about to shake it out when the door opened and Jiro stepped out again, looking colder and paler than before. He stood ready in front of Mandarin, who wrapped the cloth around Jiro again everywhere from his shoulders down.

Though Jiro was still cold and pale, he somehow looked relieved.

"The hour is late," Mandarin told him, looking around the corridor. "We will rest here for the night, and in the morning—"

Jiro interrupted him. "Why, Mandarin," he chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're worried about me."

Though Mandarin bared his teeth, he was surprised that no snarl emerged this time. But he did say in reply, "I? Worried? About you? You jest at me, boy."

_

* * *

_

Punch after punch took out a great number of the new Formless soldiers. It was true that these were more formidable than the normal Formless minions, but even their new armor couldn't survive her terrible wrath. Nova made certain that every Formless she laid eyes on was dead in the next instant, because her side had great losses as well. She had witnessed Jinmay going down, had seen a Formless soldier stabbing her old mentor, and had not seen many of her teammates for a long time.

_When she made her way to the Mandarin clone, he had already chained the unconscious Gibson and Otto onto the limbs of his transport, which was really nothing more than the broken Skeleton Droid discarded in the belly of the Dark One Worm. In fact, he was just picking up the unconscious Sprx to do the same when he saw her._

"_Put him down!" she screamed, leaping up and aiming a punch at the clone._

_Her enemy smirked and threw Sprx at her, knocking them both back. Stunned, Nova lay on her back and just managed to kick Sprx off before the clone got to her face again._

"_I am going to repay you for every blow you gave me inside the Dark One's stomach!" he snarled at her, already beginning to scratch her. "Besides that pure robot of a monkey, you are the only one alive, which I soon remedy. As for the boy, Skeleton King surely must have utterly destroyed him! No one can survive a battle against him alone!"_

"_You forget…" she growled. "No Monkey Team member is ever alone!" As she finished that, she kicked his stomach and sent him flying over her head. She scrambled to her feet almost as quickly as he righted himself._

_But the clone only sneered. "Your brothers are. Look at them. Helpless, damaged, defeated…dead. And soon, your precious Chosen One will be no different."_

"_No!" Nova screamed, beginning to lose her temper._

_But the clone stopped her again. "You wouldn't dare unleash your power upon me, not when you can't control it."_

_Just as she stopped herself, he unleashed a powerful Monkey Mind Scream. Nova growled and clutched her head, trying to resist the brain-numbing effect. She thought about Sprx; she only just got him back. She thought about Antauri; he was one of only a few still standing. She thought about Chiro; he must triumph…no matter what the cost._

_When that thought came to her, something else happened, something that made everything unbearable to her on top of the clone's attack._

x x x x x x x x x

Nova groaned as she revived. The colors were slightly blurred around her, but one color stood out to her stronger than any other: red. She didn't need to see or say anything to know who had reactivated her.

"Sprx!" she exclaimed happily. "You're alive!" And, hardly knowing what she was doing, she wrapped her arms around his back and kissed his lips.

The Red Monkey stood in shock. His tail stuck straight out, his ears puffed out steam, and something in the mechanical parts of his body made a train-like whistle. But he was not about to let this moment go to waste. Relaxing somewhat, he wrapped his arms and tail around her and deepened the kiss.

_Click_!

Startled, the two monkeys removed their kiss and looked in one direction. Laying inactive on a table was Jinmay in her robot form, and next to the table was Otto. He had his goofiest grin on his face, and Sprx and Nova soon found out why. The part of his helmet with a hidden spotlight was unfolded, and a flash came out of it with another _click_. "Classic," he snickered.

"Otto!" an embarrassed Nova growled, getting up and forcing Sprx to let go of her. "Delete those photos from your memory right now!"

"Why?" Sprx asked with a grin of his own. "I bet they would look great hanging in our master bedroom."

Nova frowned in reply.

"Assuming that we shall have a master bedroom," came Gibson's voice. Sprx and Nova looked at their other side and found Antauri and Gibson already up and about. "But what happened? Why are we in here? This appears to be some sort of…prison cell."

"I'm afraid I do not know how we came to be here, Monkey Team," Antauri addressed them all. "However, I do know what happened at our last moments before we were deactivated. Programmed within each of our mechanically enhanced brains is a defense mechanism that is to be used only in the most extreme of emergencies. It has never been used before except once, and it was purely from instinct, just as you all have used it purely from instinct."

"What sort of defense mechanism?" Gibson inquired.

"When we are severely damaged and very close to death yet still conscious, we have it within each of us to summon all but a very little of our Power Primate energies, collecting its strength and its life-giving power. Once nearly all of the essence is gathered, we eject it from our bodies and merge it with one whose Power Primate energy is stronger than our own. That was what had allowed my soul to become one with Chiro's in my last moments as the Black Monkey, when the Dark One Worm emerged from the Pit of Doom. Our bodies retain only enough to keep us alive…but only just barely."

"Wait, wait, wait a micron," Sprx replied. "If we gave up our Power Primate to someone stronger than us, and all of us are here, then that means…"

"Chiro!" Nova gasped.

"Chiro's alive?" a wide-eyed Otto asked.

"That is the only explanation for why we are conscious now, Otto," Antauri answered. "I have been reactivated only an hour ago. I would have been long before that, but only a strong use of the Power Primate can reactivate my fully mechanical body. My essence was weakened from using the defense mechanism. Chiro must have done something to free the Power Primate within him and give back what belongs to us."

"Hold on a moment, Antauri," Gibson interrupted. "If our Power Primate energies merged with Chiro's, wouldn't he have become a primitive primate as he did in the Pit of Doom when he was merged with only yours?"

"It is conceivable, Gibson, however I believe it is unlikely," the Silver Monkey responded. "In the Pit of Doom, my mechanical body broke before I had the chance to eject my Power Primate. There was nothing left of the Black Monkey to keep me alive; I imagine that was why Chiro had been transformed the last time. "

"So what are we doing here?" Nova asked.

"Isn't it obvious, Nova?" Sprx frowned. "After we were unconscious, the bone bag caught us and threw us in his prison so he can deal with the kid himself!"

But Antauri shook his head. "No, Sprx. I sense no presence of the Skeleton King or his evil anywhere."

"And yet we are imprisoned," Gibson added logically. "Unless we can make contact beyond this room, there's no way we can know where Chiro is or what has happened while we were offline. We could have been deactivated for weeks, perhaps even months."

Just then, Otto groaned. "Well, I got good news and bad news." Everyone turned to see him standing over Jinmay with a tool replacing his hand. "The good news: I finished examining Jinmay. She's got no damage anywhere, and she's fully functional."

Nova shrugged. "Then why isn't she awake?"

"That's the bad news. Her power reserves are completely drained, and I got nothing on me that will recharge and reactivate her."

"We need Chiro," Sprx stated. "Any ideas?"

Gibson looked around the mostly empty room, activating his binocular vision. "These walls are solid duranium. Our communicators are useless."

"Then we have only one option," Antauri replied. "We must use the Power Primate. I cannot sense Chiro anywhere, but we may still be able to contact him. Sit down with me and join hands."

Otto quickly jumped off the table. Sprx and Nova walked hand in hand as all four of them approached Antauri and sat down in a circle with him. All five pairs of hands clasped with each other, completing the circle.

When they were all ready, Antauri began to guide them. "Close your eyes. Let go of all thinking and free your minds. Do not speak, no matter how strong the temptation, until you feel something happen."

* * *

Mandarin woke out of the deepest sleep he had ever been in. He thought that the voice he liked most in the entire universe had called his name, though he couldn't put his finger on whose voice it was. Otto…perhaps? Or could it be Sprx's voice? Maybe even Gibson's? Or…just possibly Antauri?

He didn't want to get up. It wasn't because he still felt tired; actually, he was quite awake and alert and wonderfully rested. He wanted to remain still and comfortable so that his soul could soak up this sudden feeling of joy like his body could soak up the sun's heat.

"_Mandarin,"_ came the call again.

The Orange Monkey sat up. His body was trembling with excitement, and his heart was beating wildly. And as he looked around for the source of the voice, he began to notice for the first time the interior of the building where they took refuge from the wild animals outside.

"I don't know where we are…" he whispered to himself, "but there's something very familiar about this place." He slowly stood, leaving the shivering Jiro on the floor, and began walking around.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

Please keep in mind that dashes separate scenes from each other while x's separate flashbacks from the rest of a scene.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Four's Reviews_…

OrangeChima: Yes, what Spova fan wouldn't think that kissing scene was cute? I also had fun doing Otto immediately afterwards. I love writing Otto with a goofy grin.

jinmay-4-ever: Thanks!

4Evermonkeyfan: No, I don't consider that a flame. In fact, that the closest thing to a flame I've ever gotten! Anyone can make errors such as you pointed out in your first two points, but I'll pay closer attention to not posting any more. As for your third point, I don't want to spoil too much, but I can promise you that this chapter will make you feel better. Yes, the flashbacks were difficult, especially since battles aren't my strong point, but I'm glad I pulled them off. I'll continue updating as fast as each chapter finishes.

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: Yes, poor Jiro. But don't worry. And as for the Monkey and Jinmay… (giggle) The shock of being "dead" for 15 years will be the least of their shocks.

leavingyouforme: Well, I'm not going to claim that my theory of what happened to Antauri as the Black Monkey is actually what happened. It is, after all, a theory. I've heard a lot of theories from other fans, including someone who believes that Antauri threw himself into the egg to draw the corrupted Power Primate away from the Dark One, and the immense amount of power was why his mechanical body broke. Since that is the theory that makes the most sense to me, I went with that one and built event around it. … But you do make a good point about Captain Shuggazoom. He wasn't in season four's curtain call, so I figured he wasn't in the battle. But I guess I should have stated what happened to him afterwards…

* * *

**Chapter Five**

At first, Mandarin felt like he was being taunted, for every time he thought he was getting close to the source of that voice, it turned out it was even further than before. He didn't even mark where he was going, because he felt like his heart was going to burst if he delayed for even a moment.

As he looked around, there were several instances when something he saw triggered an old memory he had even thought of for a long time. The first time that happened, he was looking at an empty and broken toolbox. Yet he could close his eyes and almost see every detail of the memory in third person:

x x x x x x x x x

_An orange monkey and his green-furred brother chattered happily as they ran across the room. They were approaching several toolboxes stacked on top of each other. With a goofy grin on his face, the green monkey chattered excitedly and began to open the bottommost box. The orange monkey screeched a warning, but it was too late._

_The full toolboxes on top tumbled over, emptying their contents everywhere and making such a clatter. Many of the tools broke upon the crash, as did one of the toolboxes. Both monkeys screeched in fright, and the green monkey jumped back, holding a wrench in his paw. Both of them looked at each other worriedly._

_At the sound of footsteps, both looked up to see a man. He was wearing a long purple cloak and a pair of goggles, he had a pointed and curved black beard, and he was blind in his left eye._

"_What happened?" he asked, his voice gentle but stern._

_Both of them whimpered nervously, telling him nothing but the truth._

_After a few moments of silence, the man looked over at the green monkey. "You're not hurt, are you?"_

_The green monkey shook his head._

_Then, the man smiled and took both of them in his arms. "Well, that's all that really matters. Tools I can replace, but I can't replace any of you. You know, you two have an enchanting way of getting each other into trouble…but the way you both stick together to get each other out of trouble is equally enchanting."_

_Both monkeys smiled, knowing that they were forgiven._

"_Otto, would you like to help me?" the man asked. "I'm building something for our friend, Captain Shuggazoom."_

x x x x x x x x x

He smiled at the memory. Yes, if he had to choose a best friend from among his siblings, Mandarin admitted to himself that he would have chosen Otto.

"_Mandarin,"_ the voice said again, seemingly closer.

The Orange Monkey gasped with delight and continued to make his way, leaving behind the forsaken toolbox. His pace quickened. He learned quickly that if he stopped hearing with his ears and listened with his heart, he was getting closer to the voice's owner.

But he stopped again. He was passing by an open door, and he couldn't help looking in to make sure whether or not the voice came from inside. But what he saw inside triggered another memory, one that was sadder but turned out just as well in the end. He could close his eyes and see:

x x x x x x x x x

_An orange monkey walked slowly down the halls, almost as if he was patrolling his territory. He was getting close to a hallway with stairs when he noticed a smoky mist hovering over the floor and coming through an open door. Suspecting something wrong, he carefully approached the door and looked in._

_He found to his horror that his blue-furred brother was standing on a stool near a laboratory table. Several beakers were tipped over, and the chemicals mixing improperly on the table were producing toxic fumes. The look in the blue monkey's eyes said clearly that he was very dizzy and very close to losing consciousness._

_The orange monkey climbed on a nearby ladder to get away from the smoke, then screeched as loudly as he could. In a matter of moments, the man and four other monkeys arrived at the scene. The black-furred monkey took one look inside the room and almost bolted in, but the man took him in his arms._

"_No!" he ordered him. "Those gases are deadly. Climb on my shoulders, all of you; it's strongest at the floor. Now, where did I put that oxygen mask…?"_

_The orange monkey watched as the man looked around frantically. He then looked into the room in time to see his brother fainting on top of the stool. Growling in desperation, he took a deep breath and leapt into the lab._

"_No!" the man cried, fear evident in his voice._

_Ignoring the panic outside, the orange monkey dashed straight for the stool. He had a little trouble climbing up and holding his breath at the same time, but he managed. He was almost at the top when his weight tipped the stool over, and both of them fell. This caused the orange monkey to lose his hold on his breath. But instead of panicking, he got back to his feet and ran straight for his brother. He then carefully picked him up, laid him on his back, and ran out._

_Once they were out, the man pushed a button that closed the door. At least he could contain the toxic gases and neutralize them from a control room elsewhere without harming himself or his monkeys. He took the blue monkey in his arms. It looked up him with a pitiful whine and a savage cough._

_The other monkeys chattered anxiously, seeing that the orange monkey had sat down and coughed. He had breathed in some of the toxic gas, but not enough to prove fatal._

_The man picked him up and said, "For once, I'm glad you didn't listen to me. Will you help me in making an antidote for Gibson?"_

x x x x x x x x x

After Mandarin had been mildly treated for the toxic gas he had inhaled, he had been told to go out into the jungle and bring back a special wild herb. He remembered watching as the herb he brought back had been boiled into a broth and had been given to Gibson to drink. And thankfully, the blue monkey had been back on his feet the next day.

"_Mandarin,"_ the voice called yet again. Ignoring the emotions swelling up inside of him, he set off again.

Pressing on, he started to run on all fours. Very rarely would he ever do this, but he was so desperate to find the one who kept haunting him. His journey took him to a very long flight of stairs. He stopped short. He knew those stairs very well. He could just close his eyes:

x x x x x x x x x

_Screeches echoed happily and excitedly as an orange monkey and his red-furred brother slid down the rails of the stairs, each on a separate one. They were racing to see which one would arrive the fastest; this was their favorite game between them._

_The orange monkey had often marveled at his brother's lack of fear of heights, since both always chose the same rails, he on the side often closer to the wall and his brother on the side closer to the open space. There were several times when his brother almost fell off the rail but didn't. There were also a few times when he almost fell, but he was surprised in how he managed to find his balance again._

_At the bottom of the stairs, the red monkey stood up and held up his hands proudly. He was certain he had won that time._

_But the orange monkey snarled and tackled him. His brother was surprised and shocked by these actions, so he found himself doing nothing in his defense._

_Just when it looked like the fight was about to get out of control, a sound caught their ears. Both looked up to see the man glaring at them both, tapping one foot on the floor impatiently._

_The orange monkey immediately got up._

"_There is no need for violence," the man told him. "Sprx won your little game. And besides, what have I told both of you about sliding down the stair rails? You both could have been hurt simply from falling."_

x x x x x x x x x

A chill ran down his spinal structure and tears started to form in his eyes as Mandarin remembered. That was the beginning of his violent display as the eldest, the dominant one. He hated to relive those moments now.

"_Mandarin,"_ the voice came again, now very much closer.

He dreaded the voice this time. What other painful memories will this journey bring up? Could he bear the pain, the shame? But he found that he could not disobey the call even though he wanted to. He pressed on, much slower this time, climbing the stairs solemnly.

When he arrived at the top of the stairs, he was frozen where he stood. He had suspected from reliving the first memory of where he was, but now that he saw this room, he was quite certain of it now. The most painful of memories haunted this room.

He could almost see it:

x x x x x x x x x

"_Sprx, Nova, no fighting," the man gently told them after the red monkey playfully grabbed his yellow-furred sister's tail and she screeched in reply despite his uneasy chatters._

_Upon noticing that neither of them had heard him, mostly because of the volume of her screeches, the orange monkey leapt in front of them and snarled, demanding that they listen to him. They whimpered fearfully, both knowing how violent he could become, and they hugged each other nervously._

"_Uh, easy, Mandarin," the man added with a smile, drawing a confused stare from the orange monkey. The man gently patted the little one's head. "I want everyone to get along as a team. No picking on each other."_

x x x x x x x x x

"I did worse than pick on them," Mandarin shuddered, the tears starting to show now. "I tormented them. I…tortured them. They did nothing to me to deserve the mistreatment I gave them. How can I…dare to call them my brothers?"

And when he caught sight of a large and hauntingly familiar object, he couldn't believe that he had forgotten what happened next. He didn't even need to close his eyes to relive this memory:

"_Now, come away from the gate, Mandarin," the man told him. "I'm going to shut it down now."_

_But instead of listening to him, the young monkey snarled and jumped right up to the gate. He reasoned that if the creatures that were terrifying his brothers and sister so badly couldn't reach them, that also meant that he couldn't reach the creatures either. So he sniffed at the image of the Dark One that was closest to him and closest to his size._

_He snarled again. It didn't look so mean, and yet it was scaring his siblings. He wasn't going to stand for that. He began jumping on the platform, screeching as loud as he could and raising his arms as high as he could. Spooked, the little Dark One zipped away as fast as it could go._

_The monkey was very pleased, but the man clearly was not. "No! What have you done?!"_

x x x x x x x x x

"What _have_ I done?" Mandarin asked, the mental pain overwhelming his soul as he stared at the dimensional gate. "What have I _done_?"

"_Mandarin,"_ the voice called again, this time sounding very close.

This time, Mandarin snarled. "Leave me alone! Why do you torture me with these painful memories?!"

"_These are mere shadows of your past, Mandarin. They are what they were. You are in no position to blame me."_

The Orange Monkey only shuddered again, hanging his head and staring at the floor.

"_Mandarin, what is past is past. What matters now is the future. You have too long stumbled in darkness, but now that you are seeking light again, the time has come for you to embrace your destiny. Let your heart guide you to the path that you know is right, and let the Power Primate give you the strength to follow that path."_

"I've had enough of strength," Mandarin scoffed in regret. "I pursued strength and found it in evil powers."

"_Then let the Power Primate clear your mind and soul of those evil powers so that you may find strength in purity,"_ the voice answered. _"Take heed. You will need that strength to fulfill your destiny in helping to protect the weak, the innocent, and the good from the evils that were unleashed into the world. And let your first duty be to the boy whom you have stolen from his father to bargain against him."_

Mandarin looked up in surprise, though he knew he could see no one in the room with him. "A human child?"

"_He is no mere human child. He is Jiro, son of Chiro. And, like his father once was, he is meant for a great destiny. And this time, you can take part in it. But before he can rise up to meet that destiny, Mandarin, he needs your help. He is very ill, his life is fading fast, and his father won't arrive in time to help him. The only reason why he is still alive now is because you have unknowingly used something special to slow the illness' progress; you have wrapped him in my robe."_

Mandarin now groaned in exasperation. "Who are you? Come out so I can see you!"

"_Can you not see me? I have always been with you, trying to reach you, but I have only just begun to succeed tonight. You don't need to look for me to see me. Or have your forgotten how to do that?"_

The monkey suddenly realized that his speaker was referring to what Antauri called "seeing without looking". Slowly, he closed his eyes and concentrated, focusing his Power Primate energy.

But after only a few moments of this, he fell to his hands and knees and asked in a trembling voice, "Father?"

The image in his mind became larger and clearer, almost as if he was right in front of him and approaching. _"Yes, Mandarin. It is I. Don't be afraid. I am not here to condemn you for the evils you have committed. I will be more than happy to answer any questions that you have, but not now. Time is short. It's up to you now. The magic in my robe has sustained Jiro, but it won't last much longer. He needs you."_

Mandarin would never have found the strength to stand, let alone make his way to Jiro. But then he felt something gently touching his cheeks and covering his eyes: something soft and warm, almost like hands of flesh. If he had his eyes open, he wouldn't have seen anything in front of him. But now he knew that he didn't need to look in order to see. And there must have been some magic in whatever touched him, because he could feel new strength entering his body and going all the way down to his toes and tail.

Quite suddenly, he stood up and opened his eyes. "I am ready now," he declared. His voice was still deep and profound, but it had a merry tone and was no longer a raspy and scratchy sound.

The moment he said that, the presence vanished.

Mandarin turned to gaze his now white pupils down the stairs. There was no time for him to return to Jiro, so he had to bring Jiro to him. He held up his arms, his Power Primate essence beckoning. Soon, he found Jiro's wrapped body floating its way safely to his arms.

But he could see pain all over the boy's sweaty face. Jiro's breathing was also faint, shallow, and rapid.

Mandarin knew what this meant. "Jiro, no," he softly pleaded. "You must not die." He gently set the boy onto the floor and placed the side of his head on Jiro's chest, listening to his heartbeat. It was very faint, almost unnoticeable. Mandarin lifted his head and looked at his face again.

Then, leaning over him but not on top of him, he gently grabbed Jiro's left shoulder in his right paw and the right shoulder in his left paw. He stared without blinking and focused. "Jiro, son of Chiro, heed my call," he said slowly and with great deliberation. "By the living power of the Primate, come back to the realm of light."

* * *

Nova gave a sharp gasp as she and her brothers quickly snapped out of their meditation. Gibson, Otto, and Sprx looked confused at each other, but Antauri seemed slightly less disturbed…but only just slightly. Slowly, the five of them let go of each other's hands.

"Did you feel that?" Otto asked after several minutes of still silence.

Sprx looked over at him. "Kinda hard not to."

Gibson turned his gaze to Antauri. "But what does it mean?"

"Someone with a good heart and a strong essence of the Power Primate is using it for some great deed," the Silver Monkey replied pensively. "It is similar to what had awakened me, and yet different as well. I don't believe that the two instances were from the same source. However, I am certain of one thing."

"What's that?" asked Nova.

"Whomever it was we sensed in that brief moment also sensed us for a brief moment. And that means that help will come to us."

* * *

Mandarin broke from his trance, mildly surprised. But he shoved the thought to the back of his mind when he found Jiro's breathing becoming easier. "Jiro, can you hear me?" he asked gently.

"Mandarin…?" the boy answered, slowly opening his eyes.

"Lie still, Jiro. You have pneumonia, and it's sapping your energy. I have given you part of my essence of Power Primate to help keep you alive, but I fear you are not quite out of the woods yet. Listen, I have to go find something in the jungle that will cure you. I need you to stay here, keep warm, and remain conscious if you can. Do you understand me?"

When Jiro nodded slowly, Mandarin floated away from his body and approached the top of the stairs.

"Mandarin?"

The monkey hesitated and looked back.

The boy slowly turned his head to look at him, a small smile on his face. "Thank you."

Touched by this, Mandarin couldn't help but reply with a tiny and genuine smile of his own. "I will return soon. I promise."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Five's Reviews_…

OrangeChima: The Sprx/Mandarin memory wasn't particularly my favorite of the memories I've written (and before my regular readers automatically assume that the Otto memory is my favorite, guess again; I actually was more touched by the Gibson memory), but the Sprx memory was just as essential as the others.

Storm of Sparks: Thanks! It's nice to have eager readers.

almeltiempo: Thank you!

4Evermonkeyfan: … Holy Shuggazoom! Not only is that the longest review I've ever received…but that has to be one of the most flattering! Oh my word! You seem so excited that you didn't care about typos in your review; LOL! Take my work to Ciro Nieli? I wish I could! My biggest fear about battle scenes is writing them out and while proofreading, discovering that they look more like copies of battles from the episodes. I hate duplicating unless it's a direct duplicate that everyone knows is clearly not my own, such as the last two flashbacks Mandarin had. And speaking of Mandarin, take another look at that chapter and you'll find that Mandarin hasn't really forgiven himself, just accepted his task. (Won't spoil any more.) But reading your last review makes me excited! From now on, if I ever want to be excited, I'll just read that review!

leavingyouforme: Don't worry about being overcritical. Netbug spoke with me privately and apologized if her reviews criticize too much. But as I told her and 4Ever last time, I welcome constructive criticism because it keeps me on my toes. I know the difference between constructive criticism and flames. As for the robe, take another look near the end of Chapter Two, when Mandarin enters the cave. It's near the beginning of that scene. (squeals in excitement for success) I made that piece of information appear unimportant on purpose.

EmeraldShapeshifter777: Yes, exciting, isn't it? But don't count on the Alchemist being a major character in this story. He's only appeared as a ghost and only to Mandarin.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Mandarin glanced around the jungle undergrowth. He had already found several plants that could help in relieving Jiro's symptoms, but not the one he wanted. The one he wanted was special, one that can do more than simply relieve the symptoms.

He wished that he had at least his Robot Monkey helmet so he would use the spotlight. It was the coldest and darkest part of the night, only a few hours before the first rays of dawn. And he knew that if he couldn't find this special plant soon, Jiro wouldn't survive those few hours.

"_Looking for these?"_ a familiar voice asked.

Surprised, Mandarin screeched lightly and turned around. There was nothing to see with his physical eyes, yet he could still see the ghost of the Alchemist standing next to some shrubs. There was a slight burst of warm wind that parted the shrubs the exact same way a pair of hands would have. Hidden underneath were some small plants that had just finished flowering and were on the verge of dying.

Mandarin smirked.

"_Hey, fathers will be fathers,"_ the Alchemist chuckled.

Sighing, Mandarin floated to the shrubbery and began plucking the herbs, careful to take the roots with them.

"Father," he began as he worked. "You said that you could answer any questions I have."

"_That is correct. What would you like to know?"_

"Why did it take me so long to see the truth when it was always right there in front of my face?"

The Alchemist sighed. _"When the Dark Ones reached through the gate and touched me, they changed me. The transformation was slow but noticeable. Yet part of that grasp also touched you for a moment, because they knew you could look into their faces without cringing. The change in you was by far slower and less noticeable. The only immediate change was in your eyes; the pupils ceased to be white and were instead red. And the Dark Ones did not tamper with your body and your soul like they did me. They only warped your mind, so much that you could not see a difference between Skeleton King and myself."_

"Then, what did allow me to see it only recently?"

"_It did not happen recently. Within the last fifteen years, ever since the final destruction of Skeleton King and his damage, you were freed from his influence. However, you are the proudest among your siblings. You didn't want to admit that you were changing. You continued to stumble in darkness and its powers, but you found your escape thanks to a guide of light."_

"Jiro?"

"_Yes, Jiro."_

Mandarin paused. "Yet I still sense pride within me. Am I not cured of that?"

The ghost's voice chuckled, making the minor breeze momentarily swifter and warmer. _"Pride in itself is not evil, my son, as long as it is not abused. There are times and places to express pride, and there are times and places to express humility. Being humble is not the same as being weak, unlike what you have long believed. In fact, you will soon discover that there is a greater strength from expressing humility than there is strength from expressing pride. As long as you can remember that, you don't need to be cured of pride."_

Mandarin slowly nodded.

"_Anything else you want to ask?"_

The Orange Monkey hesitated again. "Yes…about Jiro. Father, you said before that he, like Chiro, is meant for a great destiny."

The Alchemist paused for a moment. _"You must understand that what I am about to tell you must not be repeated to him, at least not right away."_

Mandarin nodded again.

"_When my evil side, Skeleton King, began digging the Pit of Doom, he sought to free the Dark One Worm and ravage Shuggazoom. This you know already. But what you do not know and are about to find out is that the Worm was not the only Dark One who was freed, and I was not the only mortal whom a Dark One had touched._

"_When I was living on the planet Cathirie Takara, I lived with two companions. We worked together for many years to construct a fighting machine. In order to build it, we needed to dig the planet for its rich metallic elements; including titanium, vanadium, and duranium. One day, when nearly all of the metals had been dug up and refined and we were nearing the completion of the prototype, I noticed a change in one of my colleagues. He thought more often of the glory for himself rather than the glory of our undertaking._

"_I knew that a Dark One had touched him, most likely during the dig. I also knew that for the safety of all – my own, my colleagues, the planet, and the project – I had to leave my corrupted friend behind and take the prototype with me. I tried to persuade my other friend to come with me, but he would not listen. He said that our companion would not dare betray us…and that I would not dare steal what we worked together to create. Both of his arguments were later proven wrong, the second before the first."_

Mandarin's tail twitched slightly in impatience. But when he saw that the Alchemist had taken more than just a pause, he summoned the courage to reply, "Father, forgive me, but I fail to see how that links Jiro with his destiny."

The Alchemist nodded in understanding. _"When my corrupted friend betrayed my other, he survived and now exists only to seek a suitable host with which he could merge his evil consciousness into the body. He cannot use the most recent design of the project, so he had started a new project. He had found a design that had fascinated him for over a decade, and he had_ stolen _that design from living organic examples to replicate onto other sentient entities. When he finds one with which he is content, he will transfer the evil power of his brain into that one."_

Mandarin noticed the enunciation of the word "stolen", which was said with an angry hiss. He became nervous, somehow knowing where this conversation was heading. He had to swallow a lump in his throat before he hesitantly asked, "Father…whose design…did he steal?"

The wind in the air suddenly had a burst of chill, a chill that nearly made Mandarin's blood run cold. But he knew that his father's anger was not against the Orange Monkey.

In a tone that sounded like his teeth were clenching, he answered in a deep voice, _"Mine."_

* * *

Sprx groaned in boredom, though he enjoyed having Nova lean against his shoulder while she snoozed. Otto hummed to himself, the only sound in the room, as he lay on one of the tables and dangled his tail over his head. Gibson, however, was more interested in trying to find a way out as he leaned against the glass wall and tried to see what was outside. Antauri, the only truly calm one, did what he usually did: meditated.

His meditation was interrupted when he heard a startled screech. Otto and Nova both sat up in surprise, and Sprx glared ahead. Gibson tripped over his own tail as he stepped backwards. On the other side of the glass was a white device with several rings of different shades of yellow and a white center, giving it the awkward appearance of an eye. The device was attached to a white and silver cable hovering from its connector somewhere at the corridor's ceiling.

All five of them glared. They had seen this object before.

Speakers installed in their room suddenly turned on, and a familiar voice greeted dryly, "_So…you were alive all along after all this time._"

Antauri frowned deeply. "Professor Maezono…"

"_That_ was _my name, but no longer. You will now address me as Brainiac. A bit obvious of a name, I'll admit, but direct and to the point._"

Sprx snarled and stood up, activating his magnets. He aimed at one of the nearest speakers and electrocuted it, smashing it into debris, dust, and smoke.

"_That will not help you; I have many more,_" the voice hissed from another speaker. "_And besides, I imagined you would be honored to hear what I have to say._"

"Whatever you got, we don't want any!" Sprx growled.

Instead of listening to him, the evil hiss continued, "_You have been the inspiration for a new project over which I have slaved for a long time; if only you knew_ how _long. And now that the construction is completed, testing can finally begin. And who better to test the columniation of my work than those who inspired it?_"

"We will not volunteer to be your guinea pigs!" Gibson insisted.

The voice hesitated, giving the room a very spooky silence. It then stated almost regretfully, "_If you do not comply, I will be forced to take…unpleasant measures._"

When he said that, a whirring noise caught their ears. All five of them looked up as a robot about three times as tall as they approached the glass wall. One of its many arms approached a door that was almost invisible in the glass. It touched something, and a _click_ snapped in their ears. It then opened the door with a slow and careful _cre-e-e-e-eak_. It then reached in, the claws on the end of it opening up.

Otto quickly activated his saws and leapt with a shout, aiming for the arm. But it quickly turned in his direction, and the claws came together at their points. Purple electricity emerged from the tips and zapped him, making him scream in pain. It continued for a moment or two, then Otto fell onto the floor, stunned and deactivated but not badly damaged.

"Otto!" Antauri shouted, floating to his friend's side.

"_Pity,_" Brainiac's voice admitted. "_I wanted him to be my first test subject. I suppose you will have to do._"

The claws extended again.

To her horror, Nova found that a magnetic field caught her and sent her straight into the claws' grip.

"Nova!" Sprx screamed, pointing his magnets. He started making a magnetic field of his own, intending to pull Nova away from the claws.

"Sprx, no!" Nova shouted as the arm began to retreat with her in its grasp. "Don't do anything stupid! I'll be okay. I'll be back soon, team. I promise." As she finished, the door closed and locked behind her, and the little robot rolled its wheeled-feet down the hall and out of sight.

The Red Monkey snarled and deactivated his magnets, though he gave one of the speakers a death glare. "You harm one patch of fur on her—!"

"_Hush, my little cybernetic monkey,"_ Brainiac's voice interrupted with a quiet, false sense of calm assurance. "_Now, if all of you cooperate, I can promise you that no one will be hurt…too badly._"

Sprx grimaced and crossed his arms. "Little cybernetic monkey indeed," he muttered indignantly.

* * *

The Super Robot flew over the jungle, following the trail that it had picked up. Chiro had just finished dusting the Command Center when an alarm indicated they were getting close to their destination.

Chiro put down the duster in his hands and turned to look at the monitor. "The Alchemist's lab?" he questioned as the building came into view, wondering what Mandarin would have to do with this place. But he had no time for puzzles, not with his son held captive. "Land at the back side, Super Robot. Mandarin is less likely to see us from there, and there's a back door I can enter without him knowing it."

Doing as told, the Super Robot flew past the lab, then turned around to land safely. It had kept a high altitude during the flight to avoid attracting Mandarin's attention with the sonic boom.

Chiro frowned and cracked his knuckles. He may not be in as prime condition as he could be at his age like he was when he was younger, but after the Super Robot reactivated, his old determination also revived. And that determination wasn't going to allow Mandarin to keep his son prisoner.

He strapped on his old rocketpack, which was found in the engine room and still in good condition, and opened the hatch at the Super Robot's chest. Very slowly and quietly, he climbed out of the hatch and flew to the back door.

It took Chiro a little time to get his bearings. He had been in this place only twice, and he had come in through the front door both times. But once he had his sense of direction back, he knew his way well.

He would have checked every room and every shadowy corner he came across, but for reasons he didn't yet know, the Power Primate within him was telling him where to go, and he trusted that inner voice.

Within minutes, he found himself approaching the room with a flight of stairs. He knew these stairs well; at the top was the platform where he had found the unfinished Silver Monkey and completed it to bring Antauri back. But instead of climbing the stairs, he took the shortcut and flew to the platform.

There, shivering and sweating on a lab table, lay his son.

Chiro wasted no time in running to his side. At first glance, he thought his son was dead. But when he got closer, he found that he was still breathing, though it sounded very heavy and hoarse. Jiro was asleep, but Chiro could tell that he was far from getting any decent rest.

"Jiro," Chiro gently called. "Wake up. It's me."

The young boy didn't answer, and when his father placed a hand on his son's head to gently shake him, he found out why.

"Oh, Jiro, you have a high fever. What did he do to you? Don't worry, son, I'll stay here and look after you."

Though Jiro still didn't wake up, Chiro could tell that he was starting to make the effort.

Very soon afterwards, the familiar voice of Mandarin echoed throughout the room: "Jiro! If you're still awake, I have something for you. Now this herb may not look like much, but it's good for—"

But he never finished that sentence. That was the exact moment Mandarin arrived at the platform and met with the righteous gaze of an angry father.

"You little orange creep!" Chiro growled, getting up and holding his fists up, ready to land the first punch. "What have you done to my son?! I'll have you torn into so many pieces, even vultures won't find them!"

"Chiro, wait!" Mandarin said in calm defense as he held up his free hand, a slight fear in his eyes. "This is not what it seems."

"Oh, it's not? I think it seems pretty clear. You let my son get sick so that when I find you both, you would force me to do whatever you ask to keep him alive!"

"Dad…" Jiro's voice croaked in much effort.

Without looking back at his little boy, Chiro smirked and answered, "Don't worry, son. I'll make sure Mandarin never hurts you again."

"Dad…he's my friend!"

Chiro stood very still, extreme surprise in his eyes. Did Jiro just say "friend"? Slowly, he turned to see his son awake and stretching his hand towards them, beckoning Chiro not to hurt Mandarin.

"He rescued me twice," Jiro weakly continued. "Saved me from being eaten, then kept me alive."

"Please, Jiro, save your strength," Mandarin stated simply.

Upon hearing his voice, Chiro realized that Mandarin could have easily taken advantage of his confusion…and yet he didn't. He turned around in his curiosity, then discovered why: Jiro calling him a friend had surprised Mandarin just as much as it did Chiro, most likely even more so.

Trembling ever so slightly, Mandarin whispered, "In so many years, not one soul has ever counted me as his friend."

Chiro slowly lowered his fists. "Never in my son's life did a single kid his age have the courage to ask him to be his friend."

The two old enemies stared at each other for what seemed like a long time. Chiro was trying to decide if Mandarin was worth trusting; Mandarin was making himself open to show Chiro he was. During this silent standoff, Chiro saw for the first time that Mandarin's eyes had changed. The white pupils in his eyes, instead of the red he used to see, made him look by far less threatening.

When Chiro finally told himself that his son's life was too precious for it to waste over indecision, he looked down at Mandarin's hand holding several small, uprooted plants. "What are those?"

Mandarin gave a small smile and held them up for Chiro to see. "_Vitalus longevus_, commonly known as the Miracle Herb. It grows only in jungles, and even then, only once every five years. When chopped up, mixed in water, and brought to a boil; this plant strengthens the immune system's natural ability to fight and cure any illness. Let me administer this to your son."

Instinctively, Chiro narrowed his eyes. "At what price? What's the catch?"

"There is no catch, Chiro," the monkey quickly but calmly replied. "All I ask is for you to trust me. I wouldn't have spent almost an hour searching for this to taunt you with false hopes afterwards. I'm being sincere."

Chiro finally gave a slow nod. "All right…but if my son dies—!"

Mandarin held up a hand, quietly interrupting. "I shall assume full responsibility and you may deal with me as you see fit."

The next ten minutes were busy for both of them. Mandarin used his claws to tear apart the whole plant – leaves, stems, roots, all of it – while Chiro drew some water from the nearby lab sink. After soaking a washcloth with some of the water, he gave the rest of it for Mandarin to wash the plant and boil it. Chiro began to lightly pat Jiro's sweat-soaked face to try making him feel more comfortable.

After chopping it up as best as he could, Mandarin ground down the entire plant into a powder and mixed it into the bowl of water Chiro gave him. He had to use a Bunsen burner to bring it to a boil, which took longer than boiling water in a saucepan.

But finally, the broth was ready. It gave an earthy aroma that calmed Chiro's nerves. Mandarin had to pick up the bowl telekinetically since it was still burning hot from boiling. He grabbed a nearby lab spoon and came to Jiro's side with the bowl. He held the spoon in one hand while using the other to support Jiro's head.

Mandarin had to blow on the spoonful of broth several times before he was convinced it wouldn't scorch Jiro's mouth. "Here, drink this."

Jiro opened his eyes and watched carefully as the spoon was brought to his mouth.

He had sipped only half of the spoonful when he began to choke. "Oh, spicy!" he coughed. He had expected this to taste like most manufactured medicines did, like fruit or bubblegum or candy.

"I know," Mandarin replied. "That's the root of the plant, the strongest taste and the strongest remedy. I have some cool water to wash it down if you wish, but you need to finish the broth first."

Jiro slowly nodded and began to sip again. Since he now knew what to expect, it didn't taste quite as spicy as it did before. After three spoonfuls, Jiro decided that it was actually quite tasty. After another five, he wanted to sit up so he could drink it from the bowl. But Mandarin wouldn't let him until the bowl had cooled.

Soon, the bowl was emptied. Jiro did drink some of the cool water, but not as much as he had expected to. It was the kind of spicy flavor that tasted less spicy the more you took it, instead of even spicier. Jiro lay back down and quickly fell asleep again.

Chiro watched as he continued to wiped Jiro's forehead with the cold washcloth. But he found after five minutes that his son wasn't sweating anymore. Another fifteen minutes, and Jiro's breathing became normally silent instead of hoarse and raspy. Chiro sighed in relief; his son was healing.

He looked up at Mandarin, a small glare in his eyes. "There are many things I'm still mad at you about, but I owe you my son's life."

Mandarin only gave a slight nod. "It's still a few hours before dawn. Why not get yourself some sleep? Everything can be explained properly in the morning."

At any other time, the idea of sleeping in the same room, even the same building, as Mandarin would have been absurd to Chiro. But after hearing his inner voice telling him that Mandarin can be trusted and seeing his son healing right before his eyes, Chiro knew everything would be all right. He sighed and sat down in a chair. It was bigger than his easy chair and not as comfortable, but Chiro knew how to make the best of uncomfortable situations. He was asleep almost as quickly as Jiro was.

* * *

Nova grunted when the magnetic field suddenly ceased, for the claw dropped her so suddenly that she barely had the time to straighten herself. She did land on her feet, but she almost stumbled and nearly fell to her knees.

When she found her balance, she growled and stood ready. "Come on!" she yelled. "Try my fists!"

The room she was carried into was so large and so empty that her voice carried an echo for several seconds. She couldn't see any speakers or cables, but she had the distinct feeling she was being watched.

"_You forget that I am a disembodied brain,"_ Brainiac's voice told her. _"I would have otherwise accepted your challenge. You are brave…but misguided. One of your many flaws which I have perfected._"

"What are you talking about?" Nova asked, more confused than angry.

"_While you and your companions were unconscious, I took the liberty of examining your technological and genetic blueprints and used them to create new samples._"

Nova snarled, insulted. "You cloned us?!"

"_Not cloned. Replicated. You will soon discover the difference. I have modified and upgraded your blueprints and implanted them on the new samples. You have no idea how much trouble I went through to find suitable organic monkeys. But all of the effort was well worth it. I made the modifications based on your weaknesses so that they may overpower all of you. This is to see which one of my samples is the strongest to serve my purpose. So now, dear Nova, without further ado, allow me to introduce you to…your cousin._"

A light in the dark room turned on, shining on some kind of chamber. Nova turned, gasping at the sight.

"_Myst, enter! Let the battle begin!_"


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Six's Reviews_…

jinmay-4-ever: Thanks! And the better these chapters are, the harder they are for me to write…

Storm of Sparks: Oh. Well, delighted as I am to hear praise from eager readers, I only need to hear that praise once per chapter. I would prefer that you pick your favorite area to read it from and submit your reviews only there. Thanks.

AkemiUzumaki: Yes, it seems everyone is excited to meet Myst.

OrangeChima: Nova's my favorite characters, too, second only to Otto.

EmeraldShapeshifter777: LOL! Aw, it doesn't matter when you review the chapters, as long as I know you enjoy them.

4Evermonkey fan: Ooh, the last chapter was as spooky as the probe episode? I guess I don't know my own strength. Well, we know very little about Captain Shuggazoom, anyway. I mean, Ciro Nieli gave us only two episodes involving him at all, and the second one wasn't very much.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

From the one chamber the light illuminated, a figure stepped out and stared at Nova. More lights came on, and Nova had a better look at what she was up against: another Robot Monkey. She guessed that this was a female; although the fur was a medium-dark shade of purple, the glass orbs covering the eyes were pink like hers.

But Nova noticed right away that there were no pupils in those orbs. The only other time she ever saw this appearance was when the Mandarin clone took control of Antauri, forcing the Silver Monkey to fight his own teammates; she doubted that she'll ever forget how spooked she was to see Antauri's pupils flicker on in that split second that he had control of himself. She wondered if this Robot Monkey had a soul at all.

She didn't have the luxury of time to speculate, however. The other Monkey rushed straight at her. Nova had only enough time to activate her fists and jump aside before her opponent could tackle her down. Nova lunged forward and began to punch, but the other Monkey rolled onto its back and kicked its legs up, driving its feet into her chest and shoving her away.

Nova snarled, her tolerance already beginning to slip away. She bound forward again and landed several punches, some of which were tactfully blocked.

"**Lady Tomahawk**!" she exclaimed, bringing her fists down. The floor-shaking attack knocked her opponent back, but the other Monkey performed a cartwheel and was quickly on its feet again. "**Flame Fist Fury**!"

While the fiery attack approached, the other Monkey quickly transformed its hands into its weapons: a pair of cannons. They looked somewhat similar to Gibson's drills, but the shape was more cylindrical and looked more like extensions on the arms. The nozzle of each cannon was the same purple color as the fur.

The Monkey aimed its cannons at the flames and exclaimed in a voice that was feminine yet slightly deeper than Nova's, "**Bubble Bullet Blaster**!"

Hundreds of water-filled bubbles shot from the cannons. Less than half of them extinguished Nova's fires, the rest of them struck Nova repeatedly. Though each bubble was relatively small, they all had great speed from being launched and a harshly cold sting that stunned Nova. She screamed as she lifted an arm to protect her eyes, certain that the glass would break if even one struck there.

The Monkey stared emotionlessly at Nova, neither grinning for her success nor frowning out of regret.

* * *

Jiro moaned in his sleep as his head turned left and right. He whimpered lightly at the images disturbing him in a nightmare. His heart beat wildly at seeing the next frightening image following the last, and something else was burning deep within him out of rage and fear.

Finally, his eyes opened wide. He wondered where he was at first; he didn't remember any laboratory being inside his house. But when he sat up and looked around, seeing his father asleep in a chair and his friend floating above a table in meditation, he remembered everything. Jiro made a slight grin and freed himself from the robe that was wrapped around him, even though he was surprised at how easily he did this. He then slid off the table silently and crept up to the chair.

Then, he jumped straight into Chiro's lap. "Good morning!"

Chiro screamed and almost leapt to his feet, but he found he couldn't due to the weight on his lap. Mandarin's eyes opened and watched the innocent scene unfolding before him.

Chiro smiled and laughed, hugging Jiro tightly. The father examined his son and discovered that every last hint of the pneumonia had vanished. Jiro didn't even feel weak and exhausted as one recovering from a deadly illness usually would. Chiro laughed and stood up, holding his son in his arms and beginning to spin him around. Jiro also laughed and spread his arms apart, like he was an airplane about to have takeoff.

When their giggling fits were over, father and son gazed into each other's eyes, both of them now feeling the Power Primate strongly within each other. Jiro then examined his father from head to toe. "Dad, you always did look cool in that uniform in the pictures. But right now, right here in front of me, you look awesome!"

Chiro chuckled and hugged his son again. "Thanks, son. You know, now that you're all better and Mandarin is being friendly with us, it's starting to look like I reactivated the Super Robot and rediscovered my Hyper Mode for nothing."

"Perhaps, Chiro," Mandarin stated. "Or perhaps not."

The two humans looked over at the monkey in slight surprise as Mandarin floated over to them. "Allow me to explain. While Jiro was near death, I heard a voice calling my name. I followed the voice to this very platform, where I met with Father's ghost."

"Father?" Chiro repeated in surprise.

Jiro looked up at him. "He means the…oh, that really hard word. Alla…Alki…"

"Alchemist?" Chiro asked.

"Yes," Mandarin answered. "The Alchemist. You could say that he was catalyst for purging my soul of all that was evil and restoring within me all that was good. After he did, and after I gave Jiro part of my Power Primate to keep him alive, I sensed something else through the Power Primate. It flashed an image in my mind that lasted for less than a second. The image was…of our monkey brethren sitting in a circle, joining hands, and beckoning the Power Primate."

Chiro's eyes went wide in surprise. "The Monkey Team?" he gasped, emotions swelling inside of him almost as fast as the tears were in his eyes. "That can't be. They-they all died…one by one. I felt it."

Mandarin slowly looked at him. "I'm afraid I do not have an explanation for how we are both telling the truth, Chiro, yet we are. I know it because when I saw Antauri last, he was still the Black Monkey. But in that flash, I saw him as the complete Silver Monkey project that Father had abandoned long ago. They must be alive."

"The Monkey Team?" Chiro gasped again. "Alive?"

Jiro was equally as stunned, though for a different reason. "If they are alive, then maybe my really bad nightmare wasn't just a dream…"

Now, both Chiro and Mandarin looked at him. If Jiro hadn't been given the Power Primate, both of them would have thought Jiro's statement to be absurd. But both of them very serious, Chiro picked up his son and carefully seated him on the table. "Jiro, you had a nightmare?"

Slowly, almost thinking that he had said something wrong, Jiro nodded. He quickly clammed up, knowing that even thinking about it will bring the vivid images alive in his mind again.

Chiro placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's okay, son. I know that it's painful, but I need you to tell us what you saw."

Jiro sniffled and looked up, first at Chiro, then at Mandarin, then back to Chiro. "It looked like Nova…and another monkey I never saw before, even in the history books. They were fighting. Nova was losing."

Mandarin gave a grim sigh. "If your nightmare was no mere dream but a vision, it means that the Monkey Team is not only alive but also in terrible danger."

* * *

Nova growled in determination. Despite still being under the barrage of the bubbles, she managed to bring her fists together. "**Sting Ring**!" she screamed.

The sonic attack first destroyed the bubbles, then streaked straight for the other Monkey. She shrieked in surprise while knocked back into a wall. The sudden force made such an impact that the Monkey's body nearly made an imprint in the wall. The body short-circuited, then fell face down onto the floor.

Nova panted heavily, exhausted from her battle. She knew that she hadn't fought an opponent as tough as this for a long time. She couldn't help but feel almost sorry for her contender.

Brainiac's voice echoed into the room again. "_Hmm, inconceivable yet true and rather fascinating,_" he said calmly. Nova was surprised that the villain was not upset by the defeat. "_Preliminary test results are negative. Myst has failed…this time._"

The robot that had brought Nova into the room approached the defeated Monkey and picked her up by the head. Myst hung lifelessly in its claw, and Nova watched as it rolled over to the chamber from which Myst had emerged.

Myst's eyes flickered for a moment, and Nova could almost swear that sad, white pupils were looking at her. But in the next moment, the entire Monkey's body had shut down.

"_Further research is required before testing can resume,_" Brainiac added as the robot deposited Myst into the empty chamber. The chamber door shut, and Nova saw a purple liquid filling up in it, most likely Myst's healing fluid.

But Nova had no time to ponder on it before the robot regarded her and held up its claw. Immediately, she was pulled into the magnetic field again before being carried out, most likely back to the prison cell. She didn't mind this mode of transportation too much when she had been brought here, but the sting of her battle still clung to her body, making the return trip far less comfortable.

* * *

"It seems that we have no choice," Mandarin told his human friends.

"Agreed," Chiro replied. "Considering that there have been no evil invasions since Skeleton King's final destruction, I think it's safe to say that we can leave Shuggazoom for a considerable time."

"Can I go too?" Jiro asked.

Chiro gave his son a grin. "Of course you can. I want you to meet the Monkey Team. Just you wait until Otto sees you; he'll think you're absolutely adorable!"

Mandarin chuckled. "Besides, Jiro, you don't seriously expect that your father would let you out of his sight any time soon, do you?"

Although Chiro frowned, he knew Mandarin was just teasing.

Pretending not to notice, Mandarin made a serious frown. "Let's go get our brothers."

Chiro nodded. "We will, but not before we make some preparations."

Caught off guard, Mandarin looked at Chiro. "Preparations?"

"Of course. The Super Robot is virtually empty. I had donated everything to the Museum of Shuggazoomian History. And besides, Mandarin, you can't believe that we are going to rescue the Monkey Team with you looking like _that_."

Mandarin blinked. "I'm afraid that your point has eluded me, Chiro."

Chuckling, Chiro answered, "Hey, since your dignity has been restored, you might as well look like it. This lab has the basic Robot Monkey blueprint programmed in its computers, and I'm sure there's still some dye in here."

Now realizing what Chiro was saying, Mandarin gasped in utter shock.

"How about it, Mandarin?" Chiro asked.

Never in Mandarin's wildest dreams did he ever think that this could happen. He had thought that he was cursed to look and to be rejected for all of eternity. The offer was almost too good to be true. Mandarin trembled slightly, something he never recalled doing in the past, but he gave a slow nod.

Chiro smiled. "Don't worry. If I can assemble the Silver Monkey without knowing what I was doing, I'm sure I can do this. Of course, I will have to put you under anesthesia. I don't want you awake and feeling any pain while I do it."

Mandarin agreed to this right away, putting his entire faith on Chiro. All three of them had to spend a few minutes finding a syringe and the anesthetic, but soon Mandarin lay unconscious on the lab table while Chiro turned on the computers.

While the computer system was loading, Chiro leaned close to Jiro and whispered something in his son's ear. Jiro nodded and ran down the stairs while Chiro began to work.

In minutes, Jiro was out into the jungle and running up to the waiting Super Robot. He had seen it many times before on his father-son outings with Chiro, but there was something different about it this time, something that filled Jiro's heart with joy. The boy chuckled as he walked right up to the Foot Crusher Cruiser Six.

Chiro had told him how to use the Power Primate to open the door, and power to the elevators was restored, so it took Jiro by far less time to reach the Command Center than it took his father.

But once Jiro was in the Command Center and approaching the monitor, he suddenly hesitated. Being inside the center of operations where his father had protected and saved the universe so many times made Jiro feel very small and unimportant. He wasn't sure what to do or what to say, so he was silent for a minute or two.

Then, quite bashfully, he managed to whisper, "Um…Super Robot? Dad said that you could take me back to Shuggazoom City? I need to get some things for him."

Immediately, the monitor displaying the jungle and the lab switched images. This image had a red background with a white symbol. A faint alarm blared.

Jiro recognized the symbol but became confused. "Buckle up?" he asked.

In response, all of the lights turned off except for the centermost, shining on the six chairs in the center.

Jiro's eyes lit up as he realized what the Super Robot was telling him. He giggled excitedly, running to the chairs. He started towards one of the five outer chairs and was about to sit in it when he noticed the center chair.

His father's chair.

A thrill of excitement overwhelmed Jiro's soul. He walked over to the center chair and sat in it. It was a perfect fit. The safety straps immediately crossed over his chest. The minor alarm stopped blaring, and the Super Robot took off.

* * *

"It was the weirdest thing," Nova grunted in slight pain. Gibson and Otto had each taken one side of her and were attempting to repair her with what little they had at their disposal. "He called her Myst, and she was a lot like me. It was almost like I had to fight against myself. But she wasn't really a clone; she was also a lot unlike me, too. Ouch!"

"Sorry, Nova," Otto whimpered lightly. "You got some major damage on your chest and arms."

"Indeed," Gibson added. "And between my limited resources of fluids and Otto's tools, we can incur only minimal repairs. We need access to a medical facility."

Sprx scowled and crossed his arms. "I doubt Brainiac will agree to that. But maybe, if he really wants us alive for his experiments, we could tell him that Nova's condition is serious. He might let us have a medical kit, and we might be able to use the tools make a weapon or to escape."

"Nova, did you see anything on your way to the training room that leads to an exit?" asked Antauri.

Nova shook her head, a little distracted. "No, I'm afraid not."

The others recognized Nova seeming preoccupied and became silent. She looked at them, knowing what they were thinking.

She sighed. "The strangest thing was what happened after the battle was over, that last moment before Myst shut down. She looked at me…and for a moment, it felt like we connected. And she seemed sorry for what she did…"

* * *

Mandarin groaned as he very slowly came to his senses. It seemed like moments ago that he was willingly put unconscious. But he could see strong sunlight coming in through the windows. And other lights were on, too. Hours must have passed.

The first sound that caught his ear was a faint squeaking, like metal being wiped clean with cloth. Then he heard a familiar voice saying, "How's this, Dad?"

After a moment of silence, another voice replied, "Good job, son. It could do with little more, though. Make sure you don't rub too hard, or you might scratch it."

"Chiro?" Mandarin groaned with much effort.

At the sound of footsteps, Mandarin slowly turned his head to look at the man approaching him.

"Hey, Mandarin," Chiro greeted. "How do you feel?"

"I am not certain," Mandarin replied, half mumbling. "The anesthetic hasn't worn off yet."

"Let me help you." Carefully slipping a hand behind Mandarin's back, Chiro supported him as the Monkey sat up.

Though Mandarin was not completely to his senses, he recognized right away the mechanical sound of movement. Chiro had succeeded. Mandarin's heart leapt with joy, and he hadn't even seen himself yet. "Is there a mirror nearby?"

Almost as if expecting this question, Jiro jumped down from a table where he was working and pulled a sheet from a tall object.

Mandarin gasped when he saw his reflection. He levitated himself since he currently had no feeling in his legs, approached the mirror, and looked himself all over. The same metallic arms, the same orange fur, the same helmet. It was all his. And the eyes, those white pupils shining through the black glass…that sight made him happier than anything else did.

"Were you and Sprx twins?" Chiro asked, teasing.

Mandarin gave a merry laugh, a kind of laugh Chiro never expected from him. "No, my friend," Mandarin replied. "Actually, Sprx is second to Otto at being the youngest. I am the eldest."

Jiro hummed thoughtfully. "Mandarin, you do look a lot easier on the eyes, but…I don't think you look quite like you did back in your prime."

Surprised, Mandarin looked at Jiro.

"You know what, son?" Chiro asked. "You're right. There _is_ something missing, Mandarin. And I bet I know just what it is. Jiro, you have something to show him?"

Excitedly, Jiro motioned for Mandarin to follow him before running back to the table where he was working before.

Curious, Mandarin floated up to him. But the moment he saw what was on the table, shining with reflected light as if brand new, he gave a sharp gasp.

"My old armor…" he shuddered in excitement. "My gloves… But I thought…"

"Skeleton King took them away from you," Chiro finished for him. "And he gave them to your clone. But one by one, in separate battles, we stripped them from him. These were among the artifacts in the museum. I asked Jiro to bring them here."

Jiro grinned at Mandarin. "Dad showed me how to polish them! And I recharged the gloves, too! Here, let's slip them on you for size."

Mandarin felt like a man about to be knighted, a king about to be crowned. He closed his eyes and waited as Jiro picked up the slightly heavy metal. With a slight grunt, he held it above Mandarin's head and slipped it onto his shoulders. The weight of it almost surprised the monkey, and he nearly lost his balance. Mandarin opened his eyes and saw that the armor stretched from shoulder to shoulder and from neck to tail, just like it did in many years passed.

Jiro then held the gloves up to him. Mandarin took the left glove first, placing it onto his paw. He activated it, and the energy shield swirled in front of his wrist, extending from his elbow to his fist. He then deactivated it and took the right glove, doing the same. When the sword lit up, he held it close to his chest and hovered his left hand near the energy blade. The light from the weapon illuminated his face.

Any leftover feelings of a forsaken warrior that were still clouding his mind had vanished now. Knowing his dignity was restored, having seen his reflection, wearing the armor on his body, and holding the weapons literally in the palms of his hands; Mandarin felt like he had grown thirty years younger in the last twenty-four hours.

He deactivated the sword and slowly closed his eyes again. "Chiro, Jiro…" he said quietly. "I don't believe there are any words with which I can sufficiently express my gratitude. You both have been far kinder to me than I ever dreamed, far kinder than I deserve to be treated."

Looking again at his human friends, he knew they didn't need to hear any word of thanks.

"Now we're really ready to save the Monkey Team!" Jiro cheered. "Let's do it! Hyperforce, go!"

Both Chiro and Mandarin stared at him, blinking in surprise.

"What?" Jiro shrugged. "Isn't that what you usually say before you have an adventure?"

"Yeah…" Chiro began. "I just never expected to hear it from you."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Seven's Reviews_…

Dark Fox Tailz: Actually, take another look at Mandarin's statement. "Sprx being second only to Otto at being the youngest" is translated to Otto being youngest and Sprx second youngest. But there will be some blackmail at the very end of the story. (Won't spoil any more.) As for the other projects; yes, I'm planning on at least a 4th and 5th story in my series, but my partner in the other one has a severe case of "Monkey Team writer's block" due to no 5th season, and we feel it's kinda unfair for me to be the only source of ideas in a double team effort. I'm trying to help her out of her condition.

Storm Of Sparks: Yeah, Chiro and Jiro did do a good job.

OrangeChima: Well, Myst isn't really a clone. A more appropriate word is "replica". She was made with Nova's weaknesses, designed to be her superior, even though Nova beat her. If Myst was Nova's clone, there would be two Novas, exact in appearance and abilities.

almaltiempo: (giggle) Thank you!

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: Wow! Is everyone worried about Myst? I can just hear Nova screaming in the background, "I'm the one who got seriously injured! Why have my fans abandoned me?!" But I guess that means I did my job well since she had only two scenes for her entrance.

4Evermonkeyfan: Don't worry about how fast you review. I'm currently at a point where chapters will become more difficult for me to write, because they're going to start having battles and action.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

When Mandarin mentioned that the Alchemist's ghost spoke of the planet Catherie Takara, Jiro was worried. He remembered a lot of his bedtime stories taking place between the departure from Shuggazoom and the arrival on Catherie Takara. But Chiro assured him that the journey would take less than half of the expected time. When Chiro and the Monkey Team were in pursuit of the Dark One Worm, they were going from planet to planet to follow any trail it left behind; this time, they were taking the direct route while stopping only to refuel the Super Robot.

By the time Chiro had returned from clearing Mandarin's name and buying groceries and supplies, Mandarin had given Jiro the basic tour of the Super Robot's interior. Soon, Jiro could identify how to get to the engine core, to the training rooms, to the Command Center, and to the quarters' hall from anywhere else in the Robot. He was even shown the cockpit of the Torso Tank Driver One, and Jiro spent a couple of minutes sitting in the chair. And although Jiro didn't touch anything, Mandarin noticed the look of fascination on the boy's face.

The Super Robot had assumed a high orbit over Shuggazoom and began the space trek when Jiro nearly fell asleep in Chiro's command chair. It took Chiro and Mandarin a few minutes to notice this, but when they did, they both carefully took the boy out of the chair and carried him to quarters. The door to Chiro's old room (which also was Mandarin's old room once) slid open, revealing Jiro's belongings: the same bed, the same plasma TV, the same model aircrafts, the same blue notebook, the same yellow punching bag, everything.

Of course, when Jiro was told that he was going to sleep in this room, the boy objected at first. He didn't want to take away from the significance of the room, since it was the private residence of two great leaders. But Jiro was too sleepy to argue, and both Chiro and Mandarin wanted to give the best quarters to someone who needed it most. Mandarin was content to sleep in Antauri's old room, while Chiro decided to sleep in Sprx's.

Mandarin was slightly puzzled by the ritual Chiro called "tucking in", so he waited patiently just outside the open door while he set his son in the bed. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long before Chiro lowered the light level and silently came out. The door closed behind him, and the two looked at each other. They had previously agreed that Chiro and Mandarin should alternate taking the night watch and that Chiro would go first.

But Mandarin had almost reached Antauri's old quarters when Chiro said, "Mandarin…"

The Orange Monkey stopped and hovered in mid-air, then turned to look at Chiro.

"There's something about Jiro you're not telling me, isn't there?" Chiro asked.

Mandarin hesitated and said nothing.

The silence made Chiro slightly annoyed. "This is my only child we're talking about, Mandarin. So I would appreciate your complete honesty."

"I feared that some parental instinct might spark within you, Chiro," Mandarin admitted. "But fathers will be fathers."

Chiro frowned. "You know what happened when he shouted the advance command. He thought he was making a joke for the sake of old times, but you felt the same inspiration I did."

With a small sigh, Mandarin nodded at Chiro. "Yes, I did. And perhaps what he inspired in me was stronger than what you felt. It seems the Power Primate is affecting him in more ways than I thought it would."

"What do you mean?"

"Before, Chiro, he looked a great deal alike to you. Yet now, he is even more than that. He is starting to act alike to you. And he desires to be even more alike to you, whether he is willing to admit it or not. Can you not see the commonalities?"

Chiro stood still, not quite sure what to think.

"He has the Power Primate," Mandarin continued. "And before, he didn't. His body was receptive to it, and the Power Primate always chooses who is worthy to host it."

When he heard that, an upsetting thought made Chiro sick to his stomach.

Mandarin sensed this right away. "I'm afraid that is all I know. I do not know what his destiny is. But I do know that his heart is guiding him to the path that he knows to be right. And I also know that my first duty, and now my loyalty, is ultimately to him. Therefore, I feel the need to support the process, even encourage it."

Chiro closed his eyes. Many of the best memories in his entire life came from the years of his adolescence, but so were many of the worst memories in his entire life. A great fear had seized Chiro's heart, and he had to silently tell himself to calm down.

He then opened his eyes again. "Then I suppose we'll have to start first thing in the morning."

* * *

The next several days turned out to be the some of the most exciting Jiro had ever known. He had thought he would've been in the background, quietly entertaining himself as best as he could while his father and Mandarin did the work. But as it turned out, Jiro found that he was constantly the center of attention.

As soon as breakfast was over on the first day, Chiro took him to the Command Center and showed him how to work the monitor controls and the chair controls. He showed him how to remote access the weapons from the central command chair and how to operate the targeting system on the monitor. Of course, he wasn't allowed to shoot any of the weapons; they needed to be saved in case of a big space battle.

Jiro was a remarkably quick learner; by the time lunch came around, Jiro could remember the names of every weapon on the Super Robot from the Antenna Ray to the Foot Missiles, and also remember how to aim and fire while the Super Robot was both still and in motion.

After lunch was over, Mandarin took Jiro to the training room. The Orange Monkey had permission from Chiro to be Jiro's personal instructor in combat training…as long as Mandarin wouldn't be all "learn, learn, learn" with Jiro or push Jiro too hard.

Yet, as impressed as Mandarin was with Chiro as a teenager when the he had shown him the monkey moves he knew, that didn't prepare him for Jiro's demonstration. On top of exercising in his P.E. class, Jiro has also attended a martial arts studio three times a week, which gave him the element of surprise to his advantage. Mandarin was able to teach him a great deal. The only thing he was disappointed in was Jiro's lack of understanding about how to tap into the Inner Primate. However, Mandarin took into consideration that very few truly understood the Power Primate, so he was not angry with Jiro for this failure.

The combat training lasted almost half of every day in the entire space journey. During this training, a curious thing happened. Mandarin often had relapses back to the cruel and merciless behavior that Chiro once knew too well, for that was something that is difficult to shake off when it was all your mind and soul was for a great number of years. This happened especially often during the first few days of training. But only when Mandarin was on the verge of going too far each time when the truly curious thing happened.

He would look at Jiro in the face and see the expression in his soft green eyes. The boy's soul would be hurt, nearly broken, and ready to accept any blame for failing Mandarin. And seeing Jiro's sincere sadness would remind Mandarin of how close the boy was to death. One reminder would lead to another until finally Mandarin would remember that he had pledged his loyalty to Jiro; he had sworn it in the good name of the Alchemist. He would then suggest they both take a break so that Jiro may rest his body and Mandarin may rest his mind. This happened often in one day, then less often the next day, then rarely the day after, until finally he stopped altogether.

On top of combat training, Jiro was briefed on the navigation systems, the scanners, the shields, and the neutron generator. He was told how to identify rocks that contain raw gems used for fuel. He was instructed on operations in Sick Bay, from how to use the medical scanners to how to perform basic repairs on Robot Monkeys. He was even given one of Chiro's spare communicators that he could use in case Mandarin and Chiro had to leave the Robot for whatever reason, and Jiro could keep in contact with them.

* * *

In every way that Jiro was having the best time of his life, the Monkey Team was having the worst times of theirs. Every day, and at least twice or three times a day, a Monkey was selected to take part in Brainiac's experiments, all of them very much the same as what Nova had faced.

After Nova, Otto was next in meeting his counterpart cousin: a brown Robot Monkey with mustard yellow eyes. Just like Nova described in the case with Myst, there were no pupils in those eyes. Brainiac called him Bruno. Otto's fight against him proved to be almost as difficult as Nova's. Otto relied most often on long-range attacks, which were more often than not easily blocked by the brown double-bit axes Bruno had as his weapons. Bruno didn't have the range that Otto had, but he could simulate the saws' spinning movement by pivoting the axes' handles at the joint where axe and arm connected and then spin them. Only when Otto discovered he had to attack at close range did he gain an advantage and defeat Bruno.

Sprx was up against a dark gray Robot Monkey that had cyan blue eyes. Tempest was his name, and his hands transformed into a pair of gray grapplers with four hooks on each one. Tempest's unique skill was how easily he could launch his grapplers and hook Sprx's ankles, causing him to trip and spin like a twister before he could launch any magnetic attack. Whereas Sprx preferred attacking directly, Tempest easily countered with a roundabout tactic that easily snuck up behind the Red Monkey. Sprx was the only one who didn't win his solo fight against his cousin, but to his surprise Brainiac had ordered Tempest to stand down before Sprx could be destroyed.

Gibson had the worst experience. First, he was shocked to find that his so-called cousin created from his altered technological and genetic blueprints was a female: a pink Robot Monkey with dark green eyes named Espina, the Spanish word for "thorn". And how appropriately she was named, for Gibson later described her personality as "similar to that of a rose without any of its thorns trimmed off". Secondly, her weapons were a pair of maces, the primitive and savage medieval clubs with sharp spikes all over them, and almost as if to hide how terrifying they were, the clubs themselves were pink while the spikes were dark green. Third and worst of all, she was able to fight by taking completely illogical courses of action and still throw off his flawless calculations. Only when he had completely lost his patience and took illogical actions of his own was he able to defeat Espina.

Then came the double battles. After the four solo fights, Brainiac wanted to experiment how well his creations could get along with another of his own. Thus, six similar fights were waged: two Robot Monkeys (Nova-Otto, Nova-Sprx, Nova-Gibson, Otto-Sprx, Otto-Gibson, and Sprx-Gibson) against their counterparts. This gave the heroes a slight advantage over the solo combats by helping each other against their counterparts. However, the effect wouldn't last very long because the created Monkeys were so adamant about fighting only the one they were created from, such as Myst against only Nova. All of the double battles were victories for the heroes, though Sprx and Gibson had difficulty cooperating in theirs.

After that, the triple battles were waged with rules similar to the double battles. All but one of the four would be taken away and forced to fight their opposites (Nova-Otto-Sprx, Nova-Otto-Gibson, Nova-Sprx-Gibson, and Otto-Sprx-Gibson). These dogfights turned out to be even more brutal than the double battles, for Brainiac was able to upgrade each of his created with teamwork tactics he learned from the Monkey Team. All of these battles were near defeats for the heroes, only claimed victorious near the very end of each one.

Antauri was the only one who was never taken out for any of the battles. Otto once asked why Brainiac didn't pick on him, to which the evil brain had answered, "_Believe me, I would have greatly desired a replica with his strength and power. However, he is a fully mechanical being, and I dare not trust my consciousness with a fully mechanical being._"

With every battle that took place, all four of them were growing weaker and weaker from severe damage and insufficient repairs. Brainiac wouldn't allow them anything to help with their healing.

Antauri would have phased through the walls and helped his teammates in a moment's notice, but he discovered after one attempt that there was a forcefield surrounding the entire cell. The click that they heard before and after the door was opened was not literally a lock but actually the deactivation and reactivation of the forcefield. This forcefield prevented Antauri from escaping. It pained his soul to see his siblings so battered and bruised, and even more that he could do nothing to help them.

The only thing that kept their spirits up now – even with the knowledge of the impending and dreaded all-out battle, where all four of them would be taken most likely to their deaths – was the hope that Chiro would come to rescue them soon.

* * *

"What's that?" Jiro suddenly asked, pointing to a corner of the monitor.

Chiro and Mandarin squinted their eyes but could see nothing except space, stars, and an occasional asteroid or comet.

Jiro approached the monitor and zoomed in the image from one corner. The two still couldn't see very well what caught Jiro's eye, but they could tell that there was something out there that wouldn't be in space naturally. Jiro enhanced the image again.

Then, Chiro recognized it. "Slingshot!" he gasped.

"Whom?" asked Mandarin.

"The last of the Prometheus Project that Professor Maezono built to try to use for his own evil work," Chiro explained. "The Super Robot was its prototype. We had helped him in a battle against the professor on Catherie Takara."

Mandarin looked at Chiro, slightly surprised. "Catherie Takara? Then this professor must be the corrupted colleague to whom Father's ghost had referred."

"Slingshot looks like he's adrift," Jiro noticed. "Let's bring him in." He was already typing in the commands on the controls. The tractor beam shot from the Super Robot's eyes and caught the mechanical body floating helplessly in space.

Chiro and Mandarin went up into the ship dock, located at the mouth of the Super Robot, ready to receive the robot as it came in. Chiro could tell by the carbon scorching and the tears in the armor that exposed many wires that Slingshot had been either in a big fight or a big explosion. And Mandarin knew at a first glance that the robot's internal computer sustained serious damage.

They met with Jiro in the workshop and began examining their new passenger.

"The damage to his circuitry is too great," Mandarin informed his human friends after they spent several minutes scrutinizing the damage. "And I'm afraid I'm not as gifted in repairs as Otto. I'm afraid we will have to wait until after we rescue our brethren."

"It does look like there's something in his memory cells, though," Jiro pointed out, looking at some of the computer chips. "It looks like some kind of…visual recording. You think we can attach a holographic projector and display the image?"

Chiro and Mandarin glanced at each other, both with a small smile. Jiro catches on fast. Mandarin turned and opened a cabinet, searching among several pieces of equipment to find the one he was looking for and the cable with which to connect them. Soon, Jiro was helping Mandarin in setting up the equipment while Chiro made the connections.

As soon as the projector displayed a 3-D image, Chiro noticed something right away. "Can we increase the volume?"

Jiro looked at the data for a moment, then shook his head. "It's visual only."

The image that had prompted Chiro's question was this: Shuggazoom was in the distance, small but recognizable, and Mandarin's clone was piloting the nearly destroyed Skeleton Droid. Unconscious and chained to the rear were five familiar figures.

"The Monkey Team," Chiro gasped. "And Jinmay."

The three watched the silent memory. Sudden movement in the stars indicated that Slingshot had just caught sight of this and was moving to intercept. Chiro recognized the color of the spherical energy that streaked into view; Slingshot had aimed for the clone with the intention to free the Monkey Team, probably in reconciliation with the fact he didn't respond to Chiro's call-to-arms. But the Mandarin clone was too fast. He piloted the droid out of the way, and the attack barely missed striking the unconscious Antauri.

Chiro gasped in shock when he saw that, and Mandarin grimaced in disgust.

The clone's mouth moved, but whatever shouts or screeches he made couldn't be deciphered. Another energy blast went past, and the clone countered with the droid's firepower. The angle of the battle would shift suddenly, showing that Slingshot was evading the shots and aiming for a counterattack. This lasted for several minutes, with some moments of static due to damage to Slingshot's memory chips, until the battle was interrupted.

It looked at first as if Shuggazoom itself had exploded into a burst of energy the same way a star would die and explode. But at a second glance, the trio discovered that Shuggazoom was still in one piece and that the energy wave coming from it was a neon shade of green.

Chiro and Mandarin's eyes widened, and Mandarin almost screeched in shock. They knew this color too well: the Power Primate, most likely the instant Chiro had slammed his fists into the ground after seeing his fallen allies.

In the hologram, the Mandarin clone turned to see the energy approaching him. With a sudden look of fright on his face, the clone spun his vessel around and shot at the energy wave as if expecting to deter it. But it kept on its path.

The instant the energy touched the Skeleton Droid, it began to short-circuit. Sudden movement in the stars and the images growing smaller indicated that Slingshot made a retreat into a temporarily safe distance. The clone shielded his face as the energy wrapped around him.

Suddenly, the droid exploded, and the clone died with it. The shockwave from the explosion destroyed the chains on the five unconscious heroes and sent them far across the expanse of space. The green energy never reached them before it depleted.

The shockwave then shook the image badly, showing that Slingshot had been hit. More static came into view. For brief moments, the image cleared enough to see that Slingshot was trying to catch up with the drifting heroes. But the last image was the shortest and the most disturbing. Although only Chiro recognized it, the three saw a space vessel that contained a large brain approaching the five heroes, and from the vessel came five claws that each grabbed one. Then, the imaged fuzzed out completely.

"So Professor Maezono has them," Chiro groaned after several minutes of silence.

"If my clone wasn't already destroyed, I would tear him apart," Mandarin snarled.

Then, a faint alarm beeped. All three immediately returned to the Command Center and looked at the monitor.

"It looks like we're arriving on Catherie Takara," Jiro noted. "Let's start scanning for a safe place to land so we don't give ourselves away."

"I like how you think, son, but I'm afraid there's no safe place on Catherie Takara," Chiro replied. "All of the robots on this planet are controlled by his brain, and he's probably repaired the damage done to his laboratory the last time we were there. He'll be expecting us to rescue them."

"So what do we do?" Jiro asked.

Mandarin hesitated. He could come up with only one idea, one that had a great stumbling block. The obstacle would be neither how to get in (for that would be the easiest part) nor how to get out (for that should be relatively easy as well) but how to connect the beginning with the end. It would require an ultimate test of trust for many, if not all.

"I have a plan." he finally said. "Though I am not certain if it will work…"

* * *

Antauri was helpless to comfort his team. His own soul was in turmoil in knowing that the next battle would almost certainly kill his teammates and in knowing that he was powerless to stop it alone. He needed help, he needed it desperately, and he knew it.

None of the other four Robot Monkeys said a word to each other, not even Sprx to Nova. The last time he tried to say his last words to his teammates, he was interrupted before he could get to the really important part. Though he was grateful for what had interrupted them, he could not count on such a stroke of luck again. He wrapped his arm across Nova's shoulder and held her close.

None of them looked up when they heard the faint whirring of an approaching robot. They dreaded this noise to be the herald of their deaths. But they did look up when they heard another sound. It was faint at first but quickly growing louder. It was a sound they had not heard for a very long time and yet sounded eerily familiar.

"That sounds like…" Otto gasped.

"It can't be!" Gibson almost exclaimed.

Almost immediately, the robot came into view through the glass wall, carrying a screeching, squirming figure in its claw. With a _click_ and a _cre-e-e-e-eak_, it opened the door and extended its arm into the cell. The magnetic field holding its captive quickly reversed its polarity, sending the struggling figure flying into the cell. It crashed into the far wall and slid down while the robot retreated.

The figure came upright and flew to the robot, crashing into the door as it closed and the forcefield reactivated, then growled as the robot went out of sight. "Get back here! Are you afraid to fight me? Come, then, and feel my sword through your rusted circuitry!"

"Mandarin?" Antauri asked in a tone of genuine shock and surprise, something that was very rarely heard.

The screeching finally stopped, and Mandarin slowly turned to look at the other Robot Monkeys. The look on his face was unlike anything they ever recalled seeing on him. He looked defeated, to be expected when one was just thrown into an impenetrable prison cell, but he also looked…afraid?

Sprx scowled, and Nova cracked her knuckles.

The Orange Monkey slowly glanced from one monkey to another. This was the moment he had secretly hoped would come ever since he was exiled to the H.O.O.P. This was also the moment he had dreaded so much that he could never properly prepare for when it would come.

"Hello…?" he stuttered.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Eight's Reviews_…

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: Well, Chiro probably would have done it if he was still a teenager. Sorry to say there won't be a replica of Antauri in here. And yeah, Mandarin did just become good, but they don't know that…yet.

OrangeChima: Yes, poor Monkey Team…

Storm Of Sparks: Thanks! And here it is!

4Evermonkeyfan: (shrug) Suspense. It's a sport. Just like fishing. Give them some slack, then reel them in. But if you take another look at Chapter One, you'll find that Jiro's mother looked a lot like Jinmay but wasn't Jinmay and that she died when Jiro was just a newborn. But yeah, that would have been weird.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

"Don't you dare 'hello' us, Mandarin!" Nova growled, her fists ready. "I'm going to tear you into a hundred pieces and flatten each piece!"

"No, let me at him!" snarled Sprx, pointing a magnet directly at him. "I owe it to the team! I'll cook him five different ways!"

"Enough," Antauri told them both. "It is pointless for us to fight here with the ultimate battle still coming."

Mandarin slowly glanced at the Silver Monkey, somewhat surprised to hear Antauri's voice.

"There's something different about you…" Otto told the Orange Monkey.

"Yeah," Sprx sarcastically answered him. "Tried to give himself his old look so we would listen to him like lost sheep!"

"That is not what he meant, Sprx," Gibson replied.

"Please…" Mandarin began, so softly was his voice that the others believed he was afraid to even speak to them. "Please, I know that it has been far too long since you heard me speak and trusted me enough to listen. And since that time, both I and that wretched clone of mine have done great evils upon you. I am unable to ask you to forgive what my clone has done, and I am unworthy to ask you to forgive what I have done."

"Forgive?" Nova growled. "You insult us, Mandarin!"

Mandarin looked at her, a hurt expression in his eyes. "Nova, my heart is heavy with regret and shame. You had done nothing to me that deserved how I treated you in the training room, and I deserved to be treated infinitely more than what you gave me."

Nova blinked in surprise and stared at Mandarin. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Sprx stepped in front of Nova, jealously defending her. "Get away from her, Mandarin!" he growled. "Don't talk to her!"

Truly pained, the Orange Monkey looked into his eyes. "Sprx…about the last time we raced—" He hesitated, noticing the confused and skeptical expression on Sprx's face. "You remember. Down the stair rails in Father's laboratory."

"Oh, yeah…" Sprx replied, still keeping his guard up. "That was a real long time ago…"

"Indeed, but no amount of time can heal an open wound. You had won that race. I simply…could not believe that I would lose in a fair competition. My pride was hurt, and I retaliated."

"What is to persuade us whether you truly care or you are merely feigning?" Gibson asked with a frown.

The first response to that question surprised them all. Mandarin removed his right glove and placed it on the floor. The Monkeys had expected to see his sharp claws underneath that glove, so they had a great shock to see a paw just like their own. But that did not prepare them for when he placed his hand underneath his armor and brought out a plant.

"Can you identify this, Gibson?" Mandarin quietly asked.

Although wary, Gibson took a few steps closer so he could see the plant easier. And after only one second of looking at it, he answered, "Yes, that is _vitalus longevus_[/i, a rare herb that grows only once every five years and only in jungle terrain."

"Correct. When you accidentally stumbled into Father's storeroom and fascinated yourself with his chemicals, I disobeyed Father's order and ran into the room to pull you out. I then obeyed him when he told me to find this herb and bring it to him. The broth boiled from it healed you. I both obeyed and disobeyed Father to save your life, because I cared about you and all of you."

Otto's eyes widened slightly. "I remember that…" he whispered in awe. "I remember being scared when you ran in there."

Mandarin glanced over at him and gave a small smile. "Oh, Otto… We were best friends. At least, you were mine; I don't know how you felt. Father did say that we always had an enchanting way of getting each other into trouble. But he also said…that the way we stuck together to get each other out of trouble again was equally enchanting."

Otto slowly nodded.

The Orange Monkey then slowly looked at the last one. "Antauri, you being the Silver Monkey now, I cannot taint your mind to my advantage the way I once did against all of you. And you can sense if I am or not tainting theirs now. So when you tell them, they know you speak the truth. Am I tainting their minds?"

For a long time, Antauri said nothing. The whole time that Mandarin was speaking, he was carefully probing the former leader to find any seeds of deception within him, any moment when Mandarin would plant evils underneath the surface of the seemingly good speech. This was an unnerving time for all of them, for Antauri was the one whose heart and whose trust was broken the most from Mandarin's betrayal.

"No, you are not," Antauri finally said.

Mandarin then looked at them all. "I am not here to take advantage of any of you, or to fight you, or to be your enemy. I am not trying to excuse myself for the evils I did against you, for they are many and great. I am simply sorry that I did them. Since I cannot ask you to forgive me, is there a chance no matter how small that you can believe me? And since I am unworthy to be called your brother, is there a chance no matter how small that I am worthy to be called your friend?"

If Antauri's silence was unnerving to all of them, the silence from the Monkey Team was even more so to Mandarin. It seemed as if his greatest fear was coming true. He had believed that it always too much to hope for.

He sighed and hung his head, ready for any one of them to lunge forward and remove it from his body. His eyes faced the floor, giving an unending stare to that which was neither blinding white nor shadowing black but a pale gray.

Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He cringed slightly, wondering if Nova was going to tear his head right off. But he looked up and looked not into Nova's face but Otto's. The two pairs of black eyes looked deep into each other.

Otto then placed Mandarin's chin in between two of his fingers, as if to hold Mandarin's head still while he looked at his face. Mandarin now feared that Otto would choke him for betraying his friendship with them.

But then, Otto smiled. "I know what's different about you now," he said with a certain kind of calm joy in his voice. "It's your eyes. They're white now. I guess they were red for so long that I just didn't notice it at first."

Mandarin said nothing, wondering what Otto was going to do.

The Green Monkey's move shocked them all, but no one as much as Mandarin. Otto removed his hand from Mandarin's chin and swiftly wrapped his arms around Mandarin's upper chest. The Orange Monkey screeched softly in surprise at the embrace. And although Otto did his best to keep it quiet, they all could hear him gently sobbing.

"I know this will sound weird to everyone, but I have to say it," Otto wept. "I missed you, Mandarin!"

Mandarin blinked in shock, but he gave a small smile and – very slowly and very gently to show the others that he was no threat to them – returned the hug. "Are you…crying, Otto?" he softly asked. "Please, don't weep. You were never one to complain, even when you had good cause."

"All the same, I did miss you…the real you," Otto replied. He removed the hug but kept his hands on Mandarin's shoulders. He then looked into Mandarin's eyes again. "Antauri was right about you, after all. You thought it was too late for everyone, but it wasn't too late for you. So, in your own words, Mandarin…welcome back to the family."

The rest of the Monkey Team stood still. Otto was always the most trusting, but some of them wondered if he had gone completely out of his mind.

And Mandarin was even more shocked than they. "Otto, I said that I'm—"

"Unworthy, I know," Otto interrupted. "But even if you don't deserve forgiveness, I'm going to give it to you anyway. Isn't that what families do?"

"Call me insane if you so desire, team," Gibson began after a long pause, "but Otto is correct. If we do not forgive him even when he does not ask for it, we validate ourselves no better than Skeleton King."

Sprx lowered his magnets and transformed them back into his hands. "If you're insane, Gibson, then I must be delirious," he said with a small but teasing smile.

"But what happened, Mandarin?" Nova asked. "The last time we had an encounter with you, it was the incident with Chiro's clones. And after that, it was your own clone."

Mandarin grimaced. "Yes…and for the record, other than memories and voice, there was nothing about that clone that resembles me. He was made of pure evil, while I still had some goodness left in me. But worry no longer about that clone, for he is no more. The purest Power Primate wiped him from existence.

"As for what happened after you recovered Chiro at the clone factory and escaped with him, here is my account:"

x x x x x x x x x

_Mandarin grumbled lightly as he examined the damage done to the cloning room in the lab. Among the debris was the destroyed eye scanner that Skeleton King had lent him and the pool of formless ooze where the spout leaked from Chiro's attack. And of course most of the computers and the data stored in them were damaged beyond recovery, and almost everything else was in a state of disrepair._

_But all of this turned out to be the least of his worries when a door opened behind him. He gasped and turned around. In came two of the Hyper-Formless he used to command. The pair was walking on either side of a holographic projector displaying Skeleton King, making contact from some distant planet._

_Immediately, Mandarin began to defend himself. "Er, my lord, I was just about to repair—"_

"Silence!_" the horrifying voice came through the speaker in the projector. The image of Skeleton King's staff came down on the floor. And although the staff itself never touched the lab floor, the floor it did touch gave a terrible echo in response to being slammed down. "_The lab has been destroyed. Chiro's genetic scan wasted! There will be no more clones._"_

_Mandarin had hung his head in shame during Skeleton King's speech. But now, at this moment of dread, he knew what was coming. Sakko had told him of it once, and now it was beginning to happen again. And the only reason why Sakko was alive to tell him about it was because Mandarin himself spoke on his behalf; no one else knew how to disassemble Jinmay's head from her body when the Citadel of Bone found her flying through space in her search for her origins._

_But now, there was no one to speak for him. He looked up at the projected image of his master's face. "If-if you will permit me one more chance, my master, I promise you—"_

_Again, Skeleton King interrupted him. "_No more promises, Mandarin. No more chances. You are being replaced!_"_

_Mandarin was about to appeal to him when a third figure entered the room. At first, Mandarin had not noticed him because he was so small. But when they did lock eyes, Mandarin couldn't believe his. Standing next to the door with nothing but evil glee in his red eyes was another Formless clone, looking very much like one of the thousands of minions. But the head, adorned with what seemed like a helmet of bone, was his own head!_

_Mandarin could look at his clone for only a few seconds before Skeleton King's image pointed a bony finger at him and said, this time to the Hyper-Formless, "_Take him away._"_

_Obeying immediately, each of the two slaves walked right up to Mandarin and took one of his bulky arms._

_"No!" he screamed, even wept, as they dragged him down the hallway. "NO!"_

_In his desperation to save his skin, Mandarin began struggling in the grip of the Hyper-Formless. He managed to wriggle one arm free and use his free hand to punch in the Hyper-Formless' gut. Surprised that he got loose and defeated him, that one dissolved instantly._

_Fighting against the second was more difficult since it was alerted to the first's defeat, but Mandarin wasn't giving up. He snarled and activated the energy beam that served as his tail. He wrapped it around his opponent's waist and squeezed as hard as he could with it while at the same time pulling on its arms. Soon, it too was defeated._

_Mandarin stood still for several minutes. His anger was not appeased, and the red in his pupils became intense like fire. He snarled and went back to the cloning room in the laboratory. Neither his new clone nor the image projector showing Skeleton King was there._

_"So, he abandons me for a lost cause despite my loyalty to him," he grumbled as he picked up a needle-like device that was still attached to an active computer. He stabbed it into his upper arm quite painfully and pressed a few buttons. In seconds, he could feel his poisoned strength leaving him, and he could see the equipment in front of him seemingly growing larger._

_When it was done, he looked at his reflection in a broken sheet of metal. He was back to his old and physically crippled form that he had when he first met Chiro. Actually, he looked worse than he did when he met Chiro; the bandages which had wrapped his grotesque wounds were gone, and because his skin had stretched in his monstrous form, most of those wounds had reopened. With another pained growl, he removed the needle and found fresh bandages with which to wrap those wounds._

_"Then so be it," he snarled. "I do not need his charity. I will prove my worth to him. If my Chiro clones failed me, surely that wretched clone of me Skeleton King possesses will fail him. I will make myself scarce until I find Chiro on my own, pay back every torment he bestowed on me for replacing and surpassing me, and make him prey to my vengeance."_

x x x x x x x x x

"And only up until recently, I remained that way," Mandarin finished.

Antauri gave a light chuckle and joined with Otto in being close to Mandarin. "I sense no deception in you. My prayers for you are finally answered. The Power Primate overcame the evil within you, just as I sensed it would."

Nova blushed. She knew that Antauri was talking to her specifically because she knew (though Mandarin didn't) that she had lost her faith in the Power Primate healing Mandarin's corrupted soul; she had made that clear to Chiro and Jinmay when the Super Robot was on its way to Arcane Isle not long before the final battle.

Mandarin's mouth twisted in the way it would when one is so happy to the point of tears yet is too proud to show the tears. "And I thought the mercy and kindness Chiro gave me was too great to bear."

"Chiro?" Otto gasped.

"Oh, fear not, Otto," he quickly assured him. "Chiro and I have reconciled our differences. We are friends and as brothers now."

"You've seen Chiro?" Gibson asked.

Mandarin nodded. "In fact, it was he who encouraged me to follow through with my plan after I suggested it. I had not even the smallest measurement of confidence that you would believe my sincere words, but to that he said this: 'You underestimate the Monkey Team yet again, Mandarin. I forgave you, even though all I ever knew of you was misery, cruelty, and evil. But they knew what you were like when you were anything but those things. If you can be truthful when you show them that you are now as you were before and they still do not believe you, only then can you condemn your faith in them.' So I did as he told me."

Antauri hummed in thought. "That sounds more like the wisdom I would give."

Mandarin smiled and almost laughed, but he had to remain serious. "Not only did he say that, but he is also here on Catherie Takara. Come now, my friends. I may be proud, but you cannot believe I am foolhardy to come rescue you single-handedly, can you?"

"Rescue us?" Sprx repeated, laughing. "Great job, Mandarin. You got caught, too."

Unlike what the insulted expression they all expected from Mandarin, he smiled in reply. "Yes, I did get captured as well, didn't I?"

Silence followed for several seconds.

"You let them catch you?" Nova asked.

Mandarin nodded. "By letting them drag me through their doors, I had them show me the escape route."

A laugh almost escaped Antauri. "I thought that your anger against the robot was a little bit overdone. You should work on your pretense a little more often, Mandarin; you never could act scorned."

The Orange Monkey scoffed. "Your vote of confidence is overwhelming, Antauri," he muttered sarcastically, though he did chuckle lightly. "But enough talk about me; there will be plenty of time for that later. What is this about an ultimate battle? Father's ghost briefed me on the background of the situation, but I believe I should be updated on its severity."

Within a space of fifteen minutes (omitting the interruptions that Otto, Gibson, and Sprx threw in), the five of them were able to recount their circumstances and their battles.

"Brainiac, eh?" Mandarin asked after he heard everything. He then chuckled and looked at Gibson. "You must be insulted."

"Actually, I take it as a compliment," the scientist answered. "After all, Sprx can no longer refer to me by that unkindly nickname."

Sprx grinned. "Well, I can still call you Dr. Brain-Strain."

"Well, if only I had known that you were injured, I would have snuck some small emergency supplies with me," Mandarin continued. "As it is, we will have to wait until our ally meets with us and we escape to the Super Robot."

"I thought all of our allies died," Otto pointed out.

"Not all of them. This one is our newest and quite unaware of the severity of our destiny. However, he had much potential, and his development progress has exceeded my expectations. I'm afraid that is all I can tell you of him for now."

"Then, what is your plan?" Antauri asked.

Mandarin smiled, showing his usual cunning. "We are going to play, as Chiro would say, 'the oldest trick in the book, fellahs'."

The Monkeys blinked and smiled, all of them knowing that would be the kind of thing Chiro would say.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Nine's Reviews_…

leavingyouforme: Aww, don't worry about having missed out on my updates. Computer crashes happen. I was a little concerned, but not worried. You're certainly welcome to submit reviews in previous chapters to list specifically what you did or did not like in them. Yeah, writing out Mandarin showing emotion was tough, but I'm glad you think I pulled it off. I was actually a little scared that the transition from hate to acceptance was a little bit rushed. Oh well. As for your comments about Chapter 8, I guess I should have explained that part of Chiro's outburst better. Chiro had no clue the Monkeys and Jinmay were still alive. In his rage, he wanted to destroy everything evil associated with Skeleton King. That's why it reached out into space, to destroy Mandarin clone and Skeleton Droid. When that was done, Chiro's anger was appeased to a point that the Power Primate didn't reach the Monkeys. About Jiro's training, it's a little bit of both: he is a quick learner but Chiro also passed on some of his skills to him. I guess I should have made a stronger point that Jiro's favorite subject in school is history because of Chiro's role. I know he's becoming a little bit like a carbon copy of Chiro, which is kinda essential for a humorous twist in this chapter, but this chapter will also list differences between father and son. … Whew, I've said a mouthful…

4Evermonkeyfan: Yeah, I never liked bulky Mandarin or the clone, either. I loved writing Otto's part, but it was kinda hard for me to have him cry. He never cries in the show. At least, I don't recall if he did or not. I actually debated to myself whether or not I was going to go through with Otto crying. And actually, I don't know if 'fellahs' was a typo or not. I've seen it spelled both ways but decided to have the H in there because made the word sound softer as it is pronounced.

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: Yes, Otto is my favorite, too! I knew it had to be him who would open the others up to accepting him.

NoRatCat: Yeah, I would've wanted a fight between Mandarin and his clone, too. However, I've seen that often enough in other stories, and I felt that my attempt would only end up being a copy of theirs. And that's why battles are so hard for me to write, because I'm scared they won't be original. And besides, it doesn't make much sense to me that Skeleton King and all influences of his evil would be destroyed while the clone survives, yet another thing I've seen in other stories.

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

"To defeat our enemy, we must know our enemy," Mandarin was quick to point out. "What are Brainiac's abilities? Is he omnipresent?"

"Most assuredly not," Gibson immediately answered, much to the relief of most of the others who didn't know such a complex word. "He may control the computer functioning the entire laboratory, but he is not a living part of that computer. Only when his ocular cameras lower to the glass and the speakers activate can he interact with us and we with him. We know this because that red light is an indicator that the speakers are activated."

"Good," Mandarin answered. "That means not only can we discuss the plan in secrecy, but more importantly it tells us that when he is performing a function, he is blind to everything else that happens. That makes the chances of success significantly higher.

"Now, we must be prepared for two methods of accomplishing the same task, for we are not certain which move Brainiac will make. I allowed myself to be captured because I know that he is fascinated with our Robot Monkey operating system, and he may desire to take me from this cell and examine me the same as he examined you. If that happens, I will use the Power Primate to contact the Super Robot and our allies within. The Super Robot, along with one of our allies will perform a frontal assault outside the lab to distract him from me. While that happens, our other ally will successfully sneak inside and aid me in escaping the examination, and at that point we will free you from this cell.

"However, it is more likely that Brainiac will want to follow through his plan and take the four of you to the all-out battle. If that happens, it is crucial that you do not fight them. Take a stand and refuse to fight, even when they battle you. While you are gone, I will send the signal to the Super Robot to begin the frontal assault just the same. However, I will also initiate the back door programmed in your operating systems."

"Mandarin, that will force us to reboot our systems in the middle of a battle," Nova pointed out.

"I am well aware of that, Nova," he replied. "In fact, I'm counting on it. If you four refuse to fight and they still strike you, it will come across to Brainiac as if all of your strength is spent. Sprx, you said that when Tempest defeated you, Brainiac told him to stand down."

"That's right," Sprx began, "but I don't understand how that's going to help us."

"Don't you see, Sprx?" Antauri asked. "He commanded Tempest to stand down because he still needed you in the other fights."

"Correct, Antauri," Mandarin replied. "And if your operating systems shut down for those brief moments while refusing to fight, he will order his creations to cease while most likely sending you to someplace where you can be repaired. The reboot will give each of you a brief burst of energy when you revive that should allow you to dispose of any escorts. The frontal assault will distract him of this, and you will know the way back to the cell. By that time, our ally will meet up with you and help you in breaking this cell."

"Ooh, a sneak attack," Otto cooed excitedly. "I like it. We break out from the inside!"

"Exactly, Otto," Mandarin smiled.

"Mandarin, you do realize that as soon as Brainiac discovers that we are out of our cell, our escape will not run smoothly according to plan," Antauri felt the need to point out. "He will not allow us to make our way to the exit in which you had entered."

"I have considered that possibility," he answered. "And I am also aware that timing is vital to either plan and that our margin of error is very small. Should anything go wrong, I do have a back-up plan prepared."

"What back-up plan?" Gibson asked.

Mandarin grinned. "Our ally."

* * *

Chiro and Jiro continued to watch the monitor displaying the lab in the distance. It was very unnerving for both of them to look at that accursed building, and Chiro knew it because he had been in there once. If it hadn't been for the Super Robot and Slingshot, he most likely would never have come out alive. But Jiro didn't know the reason why he felt so nervous.

The father looked down at his son and smiled. If it hadn't been for his previous experience as leader of the Hyperforce, Chiro would have thought that his son was dressed in a uniform, one that made his son look very handsome. But Chiro knew better. This was no ordinary uniform; Jiro was in Hyper Mode, transformed with the Power Primate by use of the communicator Chiro had given him.

He figured that this would have happened to his son sooner or later; in the last few days Jiro spent training and honing his natural skills, Chiro could easily see that his son was developing his own essence of the Power Primate out of what Mandarin had given him. Though Chiro didn't really realize it until recently, he knew that his son was even more special than proud parents would normally see in their children.

The Hyper Mode uniform Jiro wore was very much the same as Chiro's: white with gray boots and orange gloves. And his face was almost exactly the same as Chiro's, the same white forehead and the same orange stripes down his cheeks. But there were considerable differences between Jiro and Chiro, too. Jiro's boots were shinier than Chiro's, looking almost like dark yet polished silver. The orange on Jiro was lighter and brighter. Jiro didn't have a scarf around his neck; he had a bandanna around his forehead. Also, Jiro's hair didn't have quite the same style as Chiro's did. And of course, the most obvious difference between father and son were the eyes, one pair of dynamic blue, the other of intense green.

"You scared?" Chiro asked.

Jiro paused for several seconds before slowly nodding.

"Good," Chiro replied. "You can tell when a great battle is about to take place because you're scared you don't know what will come out of it. Only a fool wouldn't be scared before a great battle. And besides, this will be your first. First battles are always great battles…and usually the scariest."

"I want to make you proud of me, Dad," Jiro sighed.

Chiro smiled and looked down at his son. "You don't have to do anything to accomplish that. I am proud of you, no matter what you do. And I know you'll do fine."

Jiro looked up at his father. "How do you know that?" he asked timidly. "How will I know my way in that lab? How will I know my path?"

Chiro chuckled and held his son's hand. "I once asked Antauri the very same questions. He told me to look inside myself and to trust the Power Primate to guide me. If you can do that, you will find your path."

A series of beeps caught their attention, and both of them looked at one of the scanners below the main monitor. "That's Mandarin's signal," Chiro stated.

"But which way are we going?" Jiro asked.

"Give me a minute to decode the signal."

Jiro waited anxiously as his father typed into the controls. He looked up at the monitor displaying the lab, and he could almost feel his blood boiling at the very sight of it. There's a kind of courage that comes only from being utterly and sincerely terrified; Jiro could feel that courage creeping from his heart and making its way into every muscle in his body.

"Plan B," Chiro finally announced.

Jiro nodded. "Plan B it is." He then went to the orange elevator and stepped inside.

* * *

Sprx nearly fell from lack of balance upon being roughly thrown into the room, and Gibson did fall. While Otto helped his brother to his feet, Nova looked around. The room was again dark and seemingly empty, just as it always was shortly before the battle would begin.

"_I trust that you enjoyed the company of yet another like yourselves,_" Brainiac's voice taunted. "_As surprised as I was when my ocular interface first processed your images, nothing could have prepared me for seeing a sixth one. How many more of you are there?_"

But none of the four Monkeys said anything.

"_Very well,_" he replied after waiting several seconds. "_Whether more of you exist or not, I will soon discover anyway. But for now, testing must resume. Myst, Tempest, Espina, Bruno. Enter, and let the battle begin!_"

Four lights turned on, each one shining on a different chamber that was opening. The Purple Monkey, the Gray Monkey, the Pink Monkey, and the Brown Monkey took their positions; facing the Yellow Monkey, the Red Monkey, the Blue Monkey, and the Green Monkey.

* * *

Mandarin examined the area outside the cell as best as he could through the glass wall. It seemed that his guess was correct; because Brainiac was so focused on the battle he was staging between the eight monkeys that there was no activity anywhere near the cell keeping the other two locked up.

He glanced back at Antauri, who only gave a silent nod. He then closed his eyes and extended his cyber-ears.

* * *

Jiro crept along every dismantled robot and every broken wall he could find to edge his way across. And the closer he was to the cursed laboratory, the more afraid he was of getting caught. Mandarin had crept along just as quietly, and it was even easier for him to get close not only because of his skill but also because of his size, but Jiro saw what seemed to be a fatal mistake for Mandarin which turned out to actually be his ruse for getting inside.

But Jiro had nothing to his advantage except pure instinct.

"Easy, Jiro," he whispered to himself. "Just take the next step, get nice and close, but don't move in until Dad gives the signal."

* * *

Inside the cockpit of Torso Tank One, Chiro waited anxiously. The grip his hands had on the controls tightened and loosened every now and then so they wouldn't become stiff. The last thing he needed were fingers that wouldn't reach a critical button due to inflexibility.

He was sweating, but not because the cockpit was warm; he was sweating in worry. Fifteen years of believing the Monkey Team was dead were now ending. Fifteen years of empty pain and silent loneliness about to disappear forever. And in their place, a lifetime of joys such as Shuggazoom never has seen or ever will see again.

The fate of those joys rests on the success of this one battle about to begin.

"I hope Mandarin knows what he's doing," Chiro whispered to himself. "And I really hope Jiro remembers his training."

* * *

"We've had enough of this!" Nova shouted. "Nothing can come out of this but pain. Why can't you see that it's wrong to force us and them to fight like this, Brainiac?"

"_They do it of their own will, Monkey Team,_" the voice of the evil brain stated.

"**Spiked Punches**!" Espina's almost-meek voice exclaimed, launching her maces straight into Gibson's abdomen. He groaned at being shoved back, and the dents he already had in his chest deepened but did not penetrate through.

"Their own will indeed," Sprx growled after he managed a dodge roll to avoid Tempest grappling his ankles like he did during their solo fight. That was a move that Tempest called the Cast Lashing.

"**Double-Edge Double Attack**!" Bruno exclaimed, his baritone voice drawing Otto to attention as the Brown Monkey twirled his axes in front of his chest expertly. Nova saw the attack too and was able to pull Otto away before the blades could even shave off a strand of fur.

"You're just manipulating them to be your slaves!" Gibson yelled when he managed to get free from Espina with some help from Sprx. "You have robbed them their freedom of choice!"

"_Choice is a dream,_" Brainiac replied.

Immediately, the four replicated Monkeys ceased their battle for a moment, just long enough to repeat obediently, "Choice is a dream."

"We will not fight them!" Nova shouted. "We will not fight enemies who don't know what they're fighting for!" Then, hardly knowing what she was doing, she looked at Myst, who was ready to launch another of her water bullet attacks. And she shouted at her, "Snap out of it! Brainiac doesn't care about you! He's only using you for himself!"

Myst stood still, those pink orbs with no pupils staring emotionlessly at her.

Nova silently pleaded with all her heart that the soul within Myst would break through like it started to at the end of their first fight.

But that moment didn't come. As Tempest lashed his grappling hooks and wrapped all four of the heroes together, they suddenly shut down.

"_What?_" Brainiac asked. "_Stand down, all of you! Hmm…could it be possible that all of their energy is expensed? Yet I was unable to gather new information from them. My monkeys, return to your chambers. My robots, take our prisoners._"

But the moment two robots each had two monkeys in their magnetic claws, the room began to shake somewhat violently. Brainiac's monkeys made no reaction and simply continued obediently into their chambers.

Brainiac, however, reacted very strongly. "_The Prometheus prototype is attacking! Destroy it!_"

* * *

Jiro watched carefully as he leaned against the lab wall, his eyes focused on the Super Robot and the surrounding area. He stared for a long time as it first launched the Antenna Blast, then the Finger Missiles. But he didn't move until he saw similar robots in different colors and shapes approaching the Super Robot.

"He fell for it," the boy smirked. "Great job, Dad."

He turned a corner and looked up a building. The side of the metal was crude, making several ledges that were suitable for handholds and footholds for climbing, just like a rock wall. Being very careful to watch where he was going, he climbed higher and higher up until he reached a vent, where he used a discarded crowbar to removed the vent cover and crawl in.

* * *

Mandarin looked over at Antauri in surprise. When he used the back door program, the Silver Monkey had immediately fallen on his back. This confused Mandarin at first. Wasn't Antauri the one who had said that the back door was reprogrammed to reboot instead of shut down?

But as quickly as that thought had come, a new one arrived. "Oh, of course," he chuckled to himself. "The Silver Monkey was completed after my clone replaced me. There was never a need to reprogram the back door in the Silver Monkey operating system."

He approached Antauri and was able to get him to a sitting position. But just as he removed his gloves to transform a hand into the reactivation tool, a familiar whir caught his ear.

"This is early…" he muttered suspiciously as he glared at the glass wall. Indeed, the robot that had brought him to the cell approached and opened the door. And just as the ocular interface lowered and the speakers activated, Mandarin found himself pulled into its magnetic grasp.

"What is this?!" he shrieked.

"_Have you not noticed the recent trembles?_" Brainiac's voice asked through the speakers. "_Your Super Robot is here to attempt to rescue you and the other monkeys. I am to make certain that doesn't happen._"

* * *

While the entire lab continued to shake and tremble, even causing a minor quake every now and then, the two robots carrying Brainiac's test subjects continued their journey effortlessly.

Nova was the first to wake up. She felt new energy pumping in her body from the reboot, but she knew that it was only temporary. She knew that she had to make her every move count.

Without turning her head in order to make the robots less suspicious, she looked to her right. Sprx was in the other claw of the same robot carrying her. And looking to her left, she found Otto and Gibson held captive by the other robot. The three of them were slowly reviving.

When all four had caught sight of each other, Nova gave them all a small but swift nod.

Instantly, all four activated their weapons.

"**Laser Lock Drill**!"

"**Magna Tingler Blast**!"

The two attacks forced the robot holding them to release them all. Gibson and Sprx had to perform a roll to move away from the robots while Nova and Otto landed on their feet and turned around.

"**Scritch-Scratch Doom Thrower**!"

"**Boom Boom Wake Up**!"

Since their attack was swift and hard, the two robots were easily startled, but not yet defeated.

"**Thunder Punch**!" another voice suddenly shouted, and a vent cover suddenly popped off a wall behind the robots. They turned around in surprise as a figure clothed in orange and white emerged from the open vent and gave both of them a swift kick. The four Monkeys watched as the new arrival managed several punches and kicks before finally defeating them.

He then turned to look at the Monkeys.

"Chiro!" Otto exclaimed in delight.

"Way to go, kid!" Sprx grinned with a thumbs-up.

"Your timing is impeccable," Gibson stated with a smile.

"We knew we could count on you!" Nova giggled.

The four were so happy and excited that they didn't seem to notice that their hero didn't look quite like they remembered. They did find it somewhat odd, however, that the scarf was tied around his forehead. And perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but they could almost swear that the normally blue eyes were now green.

They were, in fact, talking to Jiro, but he looked so much alike to Chiro that they didn't notice a difference in their excitement.

"No time for chit-chat, team," Jiro told them. "Let's go find Mandarin, Antauri, and Jinmay, and get out of here."

Nova nodded. "This way, Chiro."

Jiro had half-expected that there would be some extra security measures along the hallways, so he always lingered behind somewhat to make sure he covered the rear. But it proved unnecessary; they arrived at the cell without a scratch.

How surprised they all were to peer through the glass and find Antauri deactivated and Mandarin missing.

Immediately, Sprx looked up at the forcefield controls and electrocuted them. With a loud _CLICK_, it deactivated; and Nova, Gibson, and Otto immediately went to work on breaking the glass. It took longer than expected because no one had realized how thick it was, but once one simple crack was made, it took only seconds to break through.

Gibson was the first to reach the Silver Monkey's side, so he was the one to reactivate him.

Antauri made a somewhat harsh groan as he revived. "First time for everything, I suppose," he moaned. He then up at the young human. "Chiro?"

"Where's Mandarin?" Jiro asked. "We thought he was with you."

"Great," Sprx growled. "He betrayed us again after all."

"No way, Sprx," Jiro answered. "I know Mandarin well enough to know he wouldn't do that."

Most everyone blinked in surprise at that statement.

"Look!" Otto shouted, pointing at the other side of Antauri.

Nova's eyes widened in surprised. "Mandarin's gloves!"

The whole group looked at where Otto pointed and knew that Sprx's accusation was wrong. If Mandarin had betrayed them, no matter what the reason, he would have taken his weapons with him.

Jiro picked up the gloves and put them on over his own gloves. "Something's gone wrong," he growled in determination. "Let's go save him."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Ten's Reviews_…

magnalover248: (blush) You know that some of you guys really flatter me? First 4ever saying I should take this to Ciro Nieli, then two people at the MSMF forum saying they wouldn't be able to put this story down if it was written in a book, then someone else at the forum saying if this was a movie she'd watch it over and over again, and now you. (giggle) I guess I don't know my own strength…

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: (snickers) Yeah, the Monkeys are easier to fool than we think, aren't they?

jinmay-4-ever: Chill bumps? Wow. And not much happened in that one. … Hmm, I can see potential in your story. I'm guessing that Jinmay had a different name in her past since I don't see her name specifically mentioned in the flashbacks.

OrangeChima: Yes, it's exciting to wonder how the Monkeys will react, isn't it?

leavingyouforme: I had debated about whether or not to input Antauri's suspicions that Jiro isn't Chiro at the end of the last chapter or at the beginning of this one. In the end, I chose the latter because I felt Jiro worried about Mandarin was a little more important than Antauri's suspicions. And good, you're not supposed to like Brainiac.

Violetwis: Wow, two new reviewers in one chapter? Thanks for yours. I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

After convincing Jiro that they could leave Jinmay in the cell until after they rescue Mandarin, Jiro gave the order to set out. The convincing was actually much faster than the Monkeys anticipated, because even Antauri hadn't realized that this wasn't Chiro to whom they were speaking.

None of them were certain where to go. Jiro had never been inside this building before, and the only place the Monkeys had even been when not unconscious was the training room. And yet, deep inside, Jiro could just barely hear an inner voice telling him which way to turn, which door to use.

Antauri's gaze never left Jiro. Although he didn't completely realize that this wasn't their Chosen One, he had a better idea than the others that there were several things about him other than the obvious such as Jiro's height and appearance. Why didn't the boy even notice Jinmay until she was mentioned, and shouldn't he have been fawning over her deactivated body? And why was he so quick in defending Mandarin? Even the smallest chance that Chiro would be more worried about Mandarin's well-being rather than Jinmay's was nonexistent in the Silver Monkey's mind. But Antauri didn't doubt him, either. He could sense a very strong essence of the Power Primate flowing in the boy's body almost as freely as it does in Chiro's; that was why Antauri was following him at all.

He didn't have much time to think on these things before the hall suddenly showered with lasers. Considering that Jiro and the others had virtually no problem getting to the cell, they were almost caught off guard at seeing several robots making their way to them. But Jiro kept his wits about him and quickly ordered the team to Formation C.

"**Snap Slam Kablam**!" Nova's attack sent the first two robots crashing into one of the corridor walls, and one of them was crushed between the wall and the other robot. But the other robot, suffering only a small dent, got up again and resumed the advance.

"**Magna Volt Beam Splitter**!" The magnetic bullets made the dent in the robot even worse until it finally broke into the circuitry, at which point Sprx electrocuted it completely.

He didn't even notice another robot coming from behind until Gibson shouted, "**Photon Scalpel**!" Sprx turned around in time to see Gibson's drills slicing the robot in half.

Otto launched himself into a spin. "**Energy Saw Strike**!" The spinning attack looked at first like it had missed the robot that was Otto's target. But just as they passed it, the saws spun around and took out the target. He made one of his classic grins. "It dices, it slices, and it makes french fries in 30 different—"

"**Claw Disruptor**!" Antauri interrupted as he phased and sliced his way through the four remaining robots guarding a door.

Jiro scowled when he saw that door.

Knowing that his best friend was on the other side of that door, the boy growled and gave the door one of the fiercest Lightning Kicks the Monkeys had ever seen. The door not only opened but also broke and almost fell off its electronic hinges.

The six dashed into the room and looked up at the device holding the evil brain. Near that device, connected to it via cable in his socket, was Mandarin.

The proud Orange Monkey was gritting his teeth, doing everything he consciously could to hide his pain and stifle his screams. Struggle was proving useless, and he preferred withholding his attacks until he could focus them directly at something. Brainiac may not be omnipresent, but Mandarin had to admit that his presence was much larger than he originally felt.

"Let him go!" Jiro shouted.

"_I will, as soon as I merge my consciousness with him,_" the brain replied with an evil chuckle. "_My scans on him are nowhere near complete, yet I have found already that he is more powerful than most of you cybernetic monkeys and that there are small traces of what used to be evil thoughts. With one like him, I need no replica. I can just suppress his soul, rekindle his evil thoughts, and merge my brain with his body._"

Jiro's hands trembled, and his face was scowling with rage. "Over my dead body!" he screamed. "Hyperforce, Formation O!" So angry was he at the thought of losing his best friend that he didn't even give the actual order to begin the fight before he leapt into action.

But at this point, the Monkeys didn't care about hearing the order. They were too worried for Mandarin and Jiro.

The Monkeys were doing everything they could to keep Brainiac distracted while Jiro leapt from table to table, using cables as swings, to get to Mandarin. Despite their efforts, the boy was constantly a target, but Brainiac didn't expect Jiro to have a shield to repel attacks or a sword to destroy defenses.

Nor did the Monkeys expect what Jiro did next. Once the boy was within range, he held up one hand that was crackling with electricity. But instead of a Thunder Punch, Jiro's attack came when he shouted, "**Mega Lightning Lash**!"

The thunderbolt emerging from his palm disabled the computer scanning Mandarin first, then struck the machinery holding him captive.

The moment Jiro was at his side and beginning to pick him up, Mandarin gave him a confused look. "What are…you doing?" he asked, half moaning in his fatigue. "We came…to save the Monkey Team…"

"And that includes you," Jiro replied stubbornly. "Come on."

"_Sentimental, but pathetic,_" Brainiac stated, electricity building up on the glass surrounding the brain. "_As I stated before, my brain cannot be defeated!_"

"**Magno-Field Shield**!" Sprx suddenly yelled, putting himself and his shield between Brainiac and his teammates. "Go on! I'll hold him back!"

But Jiro had only managed to pick up Mandarin and jump to the floor before the electricity became too much for Sprx to hold back. He was quickly sent flying, so fast that Jiro barely had time to set Mandarin down and catch Sprx before both of them were flying back. Antauri had to hold out both hands and telekinetically catch them.

"_No!_" Brainiac screamed. "_My experiments may have been failures this time, and this laboratory may be destroyed, but none of you are walking away from this!_"

Everyone watched in horror as the rockets below the container activated and a section of the roof opened up. Faster than it could be said, the vessel was gone. But even after it left, the sudden quaking that began when the rockets activated hadn't stopped.

Gibson quickly pulled out his scanner and discovered why. "Oh no!" he gasped. "The brain has triggered a lethal power surge!"

Sprx's eyes widened, knowing immediately what that meant. "In a matter of minutes, this whole place is going to blow sky high!"

"Let's get back to Jinmay and get out of here!" Jiro said.

"Wait!" Nova exclaimed. "What about the others?"

"Others?"

"Robot Monkeys replicated for Brainiac's dark purpose," Antauri said quickly, knowing there wasn't enough time to explain everything.

"We can't just leave them here!" Otto whined. "They'll blow up when this place does!"

"All right," Jiro sighed. "Sprx, Mandarin, you two are coming with me and we'll get Jinmay. Antauri, take the rest and find these others. We'll meet with you there!"

* * *

Chiro's fists around his controls tightened with worry. The Finger Missiles and the Foot Missiles were almost depleted, and the Mega Missiles weren't far behind them. The shields had very little power, and he just used the Lasertron Fury to take out half of what remained of the robot army. And though they still kept coming, that wasn't the cause of his worry.

"They should have been out of there by now…" he whispered. "Something's not right…"

* * *

Jiro, Mandarin, and Sprx had mildly the same difficulty in getting back to the cell as the team did going out, but even though Mandarin had let Jiro borrow his weapons, he was still a very powerful asset as his Monkey Mind Scream disabled as many alone as the six of them did together.

But shortly after they arrived at the cell and Jiro started to pick up Jinmay, they came across another problem. Sprx suddenly collapsed and groaned.

"What's wrong?" Jiro asked.

"Pain…" the Red Monkey moaned. "Can barely move…"

Suddenly, Mandarin realized it. "The reboot. The effect from the energy burst has worn off. This must have affected the others as well, except of course for Antauri since he suffered no previous damage."

"We're running out of time!" Jiro replied urgently. "Mandarin, you take Jinmay."

The Orange Monkey didn't question him; he simply looked at the female robot and used his telekinesis to pick up the deactivated body. Jiro, meanwhile, took Sprx on his back and began to carry him.

This was the first time that Sprx began to suspect something awkward about the boy carrying him. He was on Chiro's back once, when Valina's power somehow made him blind and his leader had to pull him out of his cockpit. He remembered the climb out of the cockpit being slow but smooth. But this boy, did he almost stumble under Sprx's weight? This didn't seem like Chiro at all.

"You okay, kid?" he couldn't help but ask.

"I'm fine," Jiro quickly replied, straightening himself. "Sprx, you know the way. I need you to point us in the right direction."

"Right. Go straight down."

* * *

The rest of the team had just managed to break the chambers containing Bruno, Espina, and Tempest and were just starting on Myst's when all except Antauri fell. Fortunately for him, they had discovered that because Brainiac had not given his creations any further orders, they reacted to absolutely nothing they said or did and remained completely motionless. He quickly activated his claws and sliced at Myst's chamber, breaking it open and catching the figure as she fell out.

The rumbling inside the laboratory grew in intensity, and the smell of smoke began to reek. Antauri reasoned that one of the lab computers must have short-circuited and caught on fire. He knew that they had precious little time, but he hadn't realized how little until now.

"Get away from the chambers!" he warned his teammates, helping them move to the center of the room. "Oil from the cracks is mixing with the healing fluids, making them flammable!"

He didn't know until shortly after they were a decent distance away that Antauri's warning couldn't have come any sooner. As they gathered the deactivated creations near them, one of the wires that had caught on fire leaked into the room, following the trail of thin cable conductors. One of the cables was connected to the chambers, and suddenly the whole room burst into flames.

"Oh no!" Otto screamed, just realizing the danger they were in. "We got to get out of here!"

"No, not without Chiro, Mandarin, and Sprx!" Antauri objected.

One of the lights above them electrocuted from the burning wires, and raindrops of sparks showered over the Monkey Team for several seconds. But as their vision cleared, they could hear metal creaking. They knew the lab was tearing apart, but this sounded somewhat different.

A wall that was almost completely engulfed in flames trembled as something made the door on it rattle. It happened a second time, then fell down on the third. Part of the flames had gone out in reaction to the air the falling door pushed, but other areas were actually fanned into even greater flames. With their mouthpieces on, in came Jiro carrying Sprx and Mandarin carrying Jinmay.

"The main entrance is blocked," Mandarin told everyone. "We're trapped."

"Maybe we could reactivate these guys and have them help us?" Nova suggested.

Gibson shook his head. "Not enough time. And besides, there is no guarantee that they will be our allies after spending so much time fighting us."

"Well, we have to do something!" Otto nearly screamed as the flames intensified and smoke began to billow in the room.

"Antauri, can't you phase us out of this?" Nova asked as she and the others activated their mouthpieces.

"Too dangerous," he answered. "Phasing through elements such as rock and metal is difficult enough, but phasing through elements such as fire is much more so!"

Jiro looked around the room. Already, the door through which he had just entered was too dangerous to move towards. The flames made his face soak up in sweat, and the sting of the smoke was burning his eyes. He could taste the adrenaline in his mouth, his heart was beating wildly, and his mind was racing. He wasn't going to give up; he wasn't going to fail his father…or the Monkey Team.

When he looked up, an idea suddenly came to him. "Gibson, do you have enough power to use the Spin Shocker as a flare?"

Panting, the Blue Monkey slowly answered, "I…I believe so, but—"

But Jiro interrupted him as he removed Sprx from his back and pointed up. "Nova, take Sprx. Mandarin, Antauri, break that window!"

The two Monkeys blinked in confusion but looked up to find what Jiro had already discovered: despite the cloud of smoke blanketing the ceiling, they could see a ray of hopeful sunlight shining through. The two brothers looked at each other and nodded.

Then, after they both deactivated their mouthpieces, they shouted as one, "**Monkey Mind Scream**!"

One of the sonic attacks most likely would have sufficed, but Jiro didn't want to take any chances. As soon as the screams reached the hexagon-shaped window, the glass shattered. There was a slight wind that was actually blowing into the window, fanning the flames somewhat. But Jiro didn't pay attention to that. Just as he had carried Sprx on his back, he began doing the same for Gibson, while at the same time, he used one of his arms to support Gibson's drill and help aim it at the window.

"Give it everything you got, Gibson! It's our only chance!"

"**Spin Shocker**!"

Jiro was very careful to make sure this shot counted despite the firelight and smoke blinding him and the explosions causing more fires and throwing him off balance.

But one explosion was so powerful and so close that it knocked everyone off balance and shook the entire room. One of the metal beams near the ceiling, weakened from the flames' heat, was torn from its support structure and struck Antauri in the back, destroying his rocket pack, but Mandarin grabbed him and pulled him away before the beam could pin him down.

Jiro lost his balance and fell to his knees, almost throwing Gibson off his back, but Otto had quickly helped the Blue Monkey before he too lost his balance.

Sprx and Nova had a somewhat difficult time keeping the deactivated replicas from scattering in reaction to the explosion, but the entire group was soon all huddled together in the center of the room.

Just when Jiro was beginning to think they were out of time, the sunlight vanished. He looked up and discovered he could no longer see the broken window. He squinted his eyes, trying to find out if it was the smoke blocking the sunlight or a cloud outside. Only when he suddenly realized it was neither did he react.

"Get down!" he screamed before another tremor came. But this tremor was not a reaction to the impending explosion. Everyone conscious looked up to discover the Super Robot tearing through the lab walls like they were made of aluminum foil. The Monkeys and Jiro would have made cheers if they had the time. But instead, as the Super Robot lowered one hand to them, everyone helped each other take Jinmay or one of Brainiac's creations and make a dash onto the metallic palm before the Super Robot flew away.

As it lifted its hand and deposited its new passengers into the emergency hatch, everyone discovered that the rescue couldn't have happened a minute too soon. The moment they were out of range, all of the smaller explosions merged into one big one, destroying the lab completely.

* * *

"Whew…" Otto sighed as he flopped onto the floor of the Command Center. "That was way too close…"

"You can say that again, buddy," Sprx panted rather heavily.

"Indeed," was all Gibson could say.

Antauri said nothing.

Nova smiled and leaned against Jiro's leg, mostly in her fatigue but also partly in her gratitude. "We owe you one, big time."

"Don't mention it," Jiro replied. "Mandarin, help me get everyone into the healing chambers. Then you can lock up the four new ones while I set the coordinances for home."

"Come on, everyone," Otto chuckled as everyone either walked, floated, or stumbled their way into the Sick Bay. "Let's all click our heels together three times and say, 'There's no place like home'. All together now. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's…" And he continued saying it even after Mandarin used his mind power to pick him up and gently place in one healing chamber.

"Home…" Sprx sighed happily. "Home… I want that to be my lullaby while I'm being repaired. Home…" That was the last thing he said before he was placed inside the glass tube.

Nova couldn't agree with Sprx more as she said in rhyme, "Home again, home again, to go to rest; back to hearth and heart, house and nest." After that, she was placed in her healing chamber.

Gibson, however, looked up at Jiro. "I have a plethora of questions," he started to say.

"And all of the answers will be available after you all get repaired," he replied before he lowered Gibson into his chamber.

Surprisingly to Jiro and Mandarin, Antauri seemed the most resistant to being placed in the chambers. "It is unnecessary that all five of us must be simultaneously repaired," he stated. "The damage to me is not as considerable as the damage to the others."

"Antauri, that fallen beam completely destroyed your rocket pack, and I can see some of your energy cells leaking," Mandarin gently answered. "You need to be repaired before anything else takes place."

"That's an order, Antauri," Jiro told him. But as he did, he was stifling a yawn.

At that, Antauri conceded. Though his suspicions that he wasn't talking to Chiro were now stronger than before, he could sense that the worst time to argue with this boy, just like with Chiro, would be when he's sleepy. The Silver Monkey gave a slow nod before levitating himself into the black tube.

Jiro watched while Mandarin operated the controls. Each of the chambers began filling up with liquids of their respective colors. Immediately upon feeling the healing waters, each of the five Monkeys calmed down. Nova even looked like she was about to enjoy a long, hot bath. Soon, all five were deactivated and set into recharge.

Soon, Mandarin and Jiro left Sick Bay and entered the Command Center.

"Oh, almost forgot," Jiro said rather tiredly. He took off the gloves and gave them to Mandarin. "Thanks for letting me borrow them."

Though Mandarin gave a nod in reply, he answered, "Jiro, you're exhausted. Why don't you go ahead and take a nap? I can take care of everything in here, and your father will be in here soon to help me if I need it."

The boy would have answered an approval, but all that came out of his mouth was a long, cute yawn. Still, he gave a nod and walked into the orange elevator going up.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Eleven's Reviews_…

mangalover248: I hope I didn't make Brainiac's intentions too obvious. I hate making things obvious unless they supposed to be obvious.

jinmay-4-ever: Chill bumps again? Twice in a row? Wow!

almaltiempo: Oh, don't cry. Nothing sentimental happened in that chapter, anyway.

Violetwis: Hmm, maybe I did make it too obvious since two people figured it out. I'll have to work on that.

leavingyouforme: Sorry to leave your questions unanswered, but a good author only answers them in the telling of the story. (giggling at your last sentence) Almost bursting with tension and curiosity…that means I'm doing my job well.

monkyluvr: (giggle) Don't worry, it doesn't end there.

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: Wow. I knew I had to "suffer the wrath" of many reviewers for ending the chapter there, but I didn't think quite this many. :D But I couldn't just reunite them just yet for fear of you guys assuming the story is over so soon.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Even in his state of recharge, when all senses except the feeling of the Power Primate were useless, Antauri still retained his heightened sense of awareness of his surroundings. He could still see without looking, feel without touching, and listen without hearing. He knew that this calming sensation that the healing fluids provided was no fantasy; he really was safe and sound in the Super Robot's medical room.

Yet, though he did have a somewhat strong state of consciousness even in recharge, he couldn't actually do anything in this state…not even when he felt a presence of someone entering the Sick Bay. Otherwise, he would have activated his ocular interface or moved one of his paws.

This presence filled every fiber of his being with joy and relief like he had never known before. He didn't need any physical senses to know that someone familiar had entered the room, probably to check on the status of the Monkeys' healing. It wasn't Mandarin, and it wasn't the boy he had just met. It was someone very familiar…although vaguely different from what his memory recalled.

"_Chiro!"_ his thoughts leapt happily.

At this time, he tried desperately to awaken his physical senses and bring himself out of recharge. Even though his telepathic senses never betrayed him before; there was simply something about actually seeing with one's own eyes, feeling with one's own hands, and hearing with one's own ears that gave a sense of reassurance. But his nearly repaired body, for some reason, wouldn't immediately allow him this pleasure.

He could feel the presence beginning to leave.

"_No,"_ he thought, struggling against the machine that required him inactive during the repairs. _"Not yet."_

But when the repairs were complete moments later and he finally did manage to activate his ocular interface, he could only see the shadow of someone who had just left the room before the door had closed behind him.

Antauri immediately pressed the inside button to shut down his healing chamber. The water level in his chamber quickly lowered until all of it had drained completely. A section of the glass slid open in front of him, and he stepped out.

He reasoned shortly afterwards that the damage done to him was greater than he originally thought when he looked at the other chambers and found his teammates just finishing their repair sequences.

Very soon, and very joyfully, the five reunited.

Sprx spoke first, and with a chuckle, "I never thought I'd be glad to wake up and find myself in the healing chambers."

"If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up," Nova giggled.

"It is no dream, Nova," Gibson assured her. "This is real. We are back in the Super Robot."

Otto grinned happily. "I wonder where Chiro is…"

"I sensed his presence in this very room only moments ago," Antauri announced. "And I saw his shadow as he left for the Command Center. And I also sense we are due some reminiscing."

The others smiled at this, agreeing with him that it was high time they catch up with their leader.

Of course, none of them could have been prepared for the sight they beheld when the door silently opened.

Besides the four deactivated Robot Monkeys locked up, they saw three other figures that they recognized immediately. One of them was Mandarin, levitating with his legs folded underneath him, his tail hanging below his body, and his back to the Sick Bay door. The second was the boy who had met up with them and helped with their escape. But the third figure they didn't recognize completely by appearance.

The third figure smiled and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry about it that Brainiac got away. At least you didn't get hurt. I know that you're still mad about him trying to tamper with Mandarin."

"We came to rescue the Hyperforce," Mandarin stated. "You would have been wiser to leave me and guide them to safety."

The boy frowned at Mandarin. "You're my best friend. I couldn't just leave you. And besides, you always were a member of the Hyperforce. You're their brother, aren't you?"

"He's right, Mandarin," the third answered. "You can be forgiven for your mistakes, but not for giving up." He then turned his attention back to the boy. "You did the right thing by defending Mandarin, even from the Monkey Team, and that can be intimidating considering that Sprx can be a loudmouth sometimes and that Nova has a hot temper. And you did a great job even when things didn't go as planned. Using Gibson's Spin Shocker as a flare was a stroke of genius."

The boy blushed. "I just didn't want to fail you…or them. We didn't come all this way to go out with a bang. Well, at least, not that kind of a bang."

Mandarin chuckled, then paused. "My friends, it appears we have eavesdroppers."

The three immediately turned in one direction, looking at the surprised Robot Monkeys.

Antauri's gaze never left the third figure. "…Chiro?"

Though the other four somehow knew this already in their hearts, they were nevertheless stunned at actually hearing it.

"Monkey Team…" came the reply, just barely above a whisper.

For what seemed like a long while, time appeared to stand still. Then Chiro rose to his feet, for he was on his knees while talking to the boy, and ran to them. He took Antauri in one arm, Gibson in another, and hugged them both somewhat tightly. If he had five arms, he would have hugged all five of them at the same time. Sprx, Nova, and Otto cautiously approached, for they could see as the other two found out that he was crying.

"I thought I'd never see you guys again," he wept.

"Aw, come on, kid," Sprx chuckled, gently wiping his metallic paw on Chiro's cheek. "Don't cry."

"Don't hinder him," Antauri told the Red Monkey. "There are special circumstances such as this when it would be wrong not to cry."

Sprx shrugged. "But…it couldn't have been that long."

With a small laugh of his own, Chiro released Antauri and Gibson and smirked at Sprx. "It's been a lot longer than you think; for one thing, I'm not so much a kid anymore," he answered, slowly getting to his feet again.

Otto screeched in surprise and delight. "Look how big you are! You've got to be at least twice as tall!" He quickly scrambled onto Nova's shoulders, startling her. But his point was proven when he did; even on top of Nova, he was still several inches short of reaching Chiro's head.

"Chiro…if I may inquire…how long has it been…since our last confrontation with the Skeleton King?" Gibson hesitantly asked.

With a sniffle of joy and laughter, he answered, "Our last confrontation with him was _the_ last confrontation, and that was 15 years ago."

Astonished screeches and chatters rang in chorus. "Fifteen years?" Gibson repeated. "How is this possible? Logically speaking, we should have been aware of the passage of time. One year is conceivable, two is possible, but how could it be fifteen?"

But that question was never answered, because Nova had another question: "Well, if you're Chiro, then who's this short-stuff that we took orders from?"

Everyone turned just in time to see Jiro as he quickly dashed behind the center command chair. Chiro immediately walked over to the chair and peeked around, but the boy didn't come out. "Hey, what's the matter with you? You can't tell me you're shy. You've never been shy about meeting someone new."

"It's not that," Jiro began sheepishly, still not revealing himself.

"Then what?" Chiro asked. "You're not scared because Nova called you 'short-stuff', are you? She's not usually that mean; she's got a sweet side, too. … Come on, they're not going to bite. At least, they won't bite you."

"It's not that."

"What is it?"

"They…they thought I was you."

The Hyperforce suddenly realized the cause for Jiro's discomfort. "Of course, I see now," Antauri chuckled as he and the others approached the chair from the other side, looking at the young boy. "You know that since Chiro cannot be replaced, you believe that we thought you came to take his place."

The boy blushed and didn't answer but stood still.

"You need have no fear of that," the Silver Monkey continued. "We can see that you did not come to take his place; you have come to rise up to your own."

When he heard that, Jiro finally had the courage to look into Antauri's cobalt blue eyes. And as he did, he gave a small smile.

Chiro also grinned. "See, son? I knew they'd like you."

The Monkey Team blinked and smiled at the pair. They figured just as much that Chiro called him "son".

Then, Chiro placed his hands on Jiro's shoulders before looking at his reunited friends. "Son, meet the Monkey Team. That's Antauri, she's Nova, there's Mr. Hal Gibson, he's S.P.R.X.-77, and Otto."

"It's a pleasure and an honor to meet you, Monkey Team," Jiro said, still a little shy.

Antauri smiled. "I believe the pleasure and honor is ours."

Gibson walked up to Jiro and looked at him head to toe. He then glanced at Chiro before looking again at Jiro. "The resemblance is uncanny."

"Yeah!" Otto agreed. "And it's amazing how much you two look alike!"

"So you're Chiro's son," Nova said sweetly.

"Chip off the old block, eh?" Sprx teased with a laugh.

Chiro laughed right along his friend. "Monkey Team, this is Jiro."

Nova suddenly glared at Mandarin with a smirk. "You knew about him the whole time, didn't you?"

Mandarin held up his hands in defense. "Chiro had asked me not to speak of him directly until after the introductions."

Chiro grinned. "I wanted to see your reactions."

Sprx suddenly snickered. "You are so sneaky, Chiro." He then ran up to the boy, wanting his turn at a hug.

Chiro laughed. He not only accepted the hug, but he also picked up Sprx and held him up. Although this was harder for Chiro to do with Sprx than with Jiro, he surprised them all by this action that he could never have done as a teenager.

"I don't think you guys know how glad I am to see you!" Chiro said, once again beginning to cry.

Nova walked up to Chiro and hugged his legs. "Believe me, we do," she assured him.

As Sprx looked back at the others, his eyes suddenly widened. "Oh no…"

Before anyone could ask his cause for concern, it became evident. The excitement was too much for Otto. He couldn't restrain it any longer. "Monkey pile!" he screamed, taking Gibson's hand and running straight for Chiro. Though against Gibson's will, the four Monkeys were suddenly all over Chiro, and the 30-year-old man soon found himself buried under cybernetic monkeys full of laughter. Jiro was rolling on the floor with laughter, Mandarin snickered happily, and even Antauri couldn't stifle a heartfelt, jolly chuckle.

* * *

After Chiro spent almost two hours relaying everything that had happened to him since the Monkey Team last saw him, with Mandarin and Jiro adding what had happened to them, everyone scattered in different directions for the time being. Chiro wanted to wake up Jinmay right away (and to hold her in his arms again), but Otto insisted that he and Gibson should do some modifications on her. After all, Jinmay would be frightened if she woke up to find Chiro twice as tall and twice as old as she.

While they did that, Jiro was showing Nova and Sprx that he knew more about the Super Robot than they thought he did and impressing them with his martial arts. Chiro, Mandarin, and Antauri were watching from a short distance.

"So you really placed yourself between a panther's jaws to save Jiro?" Antauri asked, glancing at Mandarin. "I never realized you were that selfless. Entering a toxic zone is one matter; entering a beast's mouth is another."

Mandarin chuckled. "I believed I was reckless to commit such an action. I could have just as easily rescued him by pulling him out of the creature's jaws with my power."

Chiro almost laughed at that, but he really did laugh when he looked ahead and found Sprx and Nova giggling at Jiro. The boy was in the command chair, spinning around in it like it was a toy. "Easy there, son," Chiro called. "You're going to make yourself sick."

"I'm…fine!" Jiro squealed in his excitement, though his voice also had the tone of weariness like one would have when starting to feel dizzy.

Antauri smiled. "Your son is remarkable, Chiro."

"Yeah…" Chiro replied, a bit of wistfulness in his voice. "Somehow, I've always known that he was special."

The Silver Monkey looked at Chiro. "If I may ask, who is his mother?"

A slightly pained expression in his eyes, Chiro sighed and slowly replied, "She died. Jiro actually came a month earlier than we planned, so Myra and I were caught off guard. I think you guys would've liked her, but I don't think Jinmay would. This is just a guess, but I think Myra was Jinmay's original. The two really did look a lot alike. And Ii won't care if she was her original; to me, Jinmay was the real thing."

He then paused as he watched the center command chair slowing down. Jiro was moaning wearily, and Sprx and Nova were quietly snickering at how cute he looked at this moment. "I wonder how Jinmay will react to Jiro…"

Mandarin looked at Chiro. "There is one question I've been meaning to ask since Jiro told me his name. Why did you name him Jiro? No offense, but with a name like that, you might as well have called him Junior."

Chiro chuckled. "I actually meant to call him Junior. But in my shock at seeing Myra dead, I just stared while I started to say Junior. One of the nurses called my name to bring me to attention, and in my confusion, the two names just muddled together. But it's just as well; he's enough alike to me that it works."

Antauri smiled. "He even had me fooled for a while."

Chiro looked over at Antauri and smirked. "What? Even with your telepathic sense, you couldn't tell that he wasn't me?" he teased. "If I may say so, your wits are starting to grow dull."

The Silver Monkey looked over at Chiro and grinned. "You may have grown older, Chiro, but I can see that you have not really grown up."

"Of course not," Chiro laughed. "Most grown-ups are boring."

The verbal play fight would have continued, but the door to the Sick Bay opened at that moment, and everyone looked to see Otto and Gibson coming out.

"She's almost ready, Chiro," Otto announced. "Another minute or two of recharging, and Jinmay's as good as new!"

Chiro quickly scrambled to his feet and walked into the Sick Bay. Everyone followed him, though Nova had to help Jiro since he was still dizzy from playing in the chair.

They all looked in, finding Jinmay asleep on the table. For the most part, she looked just as she did for most of her involvement with the Monkey Team, with the same white uniform and the same pink gloves and scarf. But she also looked different; besides being taller, something had also been done to her face that made her look less like a cute girl and more like a beautiful woman.

If Chiro had not been smitten by his first look at her when he was a teenager, he would have been by the look of her now. "How did you do it?" he breathlessly asked Otto and Gibson.

"Well, when we first met her, she had this program in her systems that let her grow into a giant," Otto began. "She still has it; she just hasn't used it because she never needed to. So we just tapped into that program for a split second, and presto! She's taller. Of course, we had to adjust her settings so that it's permanent."

"As for simulating her aging," Gibson continued, "we didn't have to do much. She is, after all, a robot with an alternate form designed to fool you into thinking she's human. The only reason she hasn't aged at all was because she was deactivated. As soon as we reactivated her, we accelerated the aging program to bring it up to date."

Chiro listened to only bits and pieces of the details. Just seeing her again made him too happy to pay full attention. Slowly, he walked up to the table and sat down on the edge of it, looking directly at her face. He sighed, happy to see that bright pink in her hair. All sort of emotions were boiling up inside Chiro, all of them revolving around his love for Jinmay. He was surprised he was able to keep them under control.

He gently and affectionately stroked her cheek with his hand. Immediately upon his touch, her eyes opened. He gasped softly, happy to see that soft green in her eyes. "Jinmay," he whispered in his joy. "You're all right."

"Chiro?" she asked.

In this, Chiro was a little disappointed; her voice wasn't as light as he remembered. But then, he knew his voice had changed somewhat as he aged, and her voice was still as merry as ever, so he didn't let that bother him.

"Chiro, what happened? You've changed."

He laughed lightly, not really in the mood yet to repeat everything again. But he gently helped her sit up and wrapped his arms around her. "This will take some time to explain. But for now, I'm just happy to see you again."

The Monkeys all glanced at each other and silently agreed that Chiro and Jinmay deserved some time alone. Antauri and Mandarin were the first to leave, followed quickly by Gibson. Sprx and Nova watched for a while longer before glancing at each other and leaving. Otto didn't want to leave, but Gibson came back and quietly dragged him out by his arm.

Jiro, on the other hand, didn't really understand the concept of romantic relationships; the only love he's ever known was that between he and his father. But he had seen pictures of his mother, and he had seen pictures of Jinmay, and he often got the two confused until a few years ago. He had never met either of them, but there had been a silent prayer in him ever since he was very little, and now there was a chance of it coming true. So he quietly approached the vacant side of the table and gently tugged at Jinmay's skirt.

Surprised, the two removed their hug and looked down into the boy's soft green eyes.

"Um…" he started shyly, looking directly at Jinmay. "May I call you Mom?"

Jinmay, surprised for more than one reason, looked at Chiro.

Chiro blushed and rubbed the back of his head. He wasn't planning on letting Jinmay know about Jiro just yet.

Although much time had passed since the two lovers saw each other, Jinmay still understood most of Chiro's moods. Chiro was embarrassed because Jiro asking her to be his mother would be basically the same as Chiro asking her to be his wife.

She giggled sweetly and looked at Jiro, gently picking him up and setting him in her lap so that the boy was in between both of them. "You have a heart of gold, you know that?" she asked him. "Of course you may call me Mom."

She then looked at Chiro again. "Nothing would make me happier."

Sighing in relief, Chiro hugged Jinmay again. She returned the hug with one arm while rubbing Jiro's back with the other. Jiro simply sat there, content to be in the middle of such family love.

* * *

Convincing Jinmay that Mandarin was on their side was actually much harder than anyone anticipated. Like Chiro before, all she ever experienced from him was cruelty and evil. But unlike Chiro, she didn't know that Mandarin ever has been or ever could be good.

Jiro again had to interject for him. And this time, when all seven of them were seeing him showing strength that only the faith of a child had, they were all convinced without a doubt that somehow, through some divine intervention, Mandarin and Jiro were destined to be friends.

When that argument was finally settled once and for all, their attention turned to the four inactive Monkeys.

"It seems locking them up was unnecessary," Gibson reported. "They haven't budged an inch since we found them."

"So Brainiac had them under his control, too," Mandarin realized. "And he rescinded his hold on them and gave them up for a lost cause. I can sympathize with them."

Chiro watched carefully as Sprx deactivated the forcefield imprisoning them. The four of them immediately fell to the floor lifelessly, just the same as the empty shell of the Silver Monkey once did before Antauri's soul entered it. "Do they have souls at all?" he asked.

"They have to," Nova insisted rather passionately. "I'll never forget the way Myst looked at me after our first fight."

Antauri closed his eyes and concentrated, blocking out the inner voices of everyone else's thoughts and focused only on the four laying helplessly. Immediately, he could hear overlapping voices he didn't recognize, and he could just barely tell which voice came from which host.

"_If he makes us fight one more time, I'll never—_"

"—_Need to get out! Need to break free—_"

"—_Sorry, so sorry. I can't—_"

"—_Programming block…too strong. It's hopeless…_"

Antauri then opened his eyes. He had heard enough, felt enough. "I sense that they do have souls. Brainiac has done something to bury their souls deep within themselves to keep them from breaking free. I also sense no essence of the Power Primate in any of them."

"So what can we do?" asked Nova.

"We have to reawaken them," Jiro answered.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Twelve's Reviews_…

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: Yes, my beta reader told me that she thought Jiro asking Jinmay to be his mother was the sweetest thing! Kinda hard to believe he'd be suddenly shy around the Monkeys.

NoRatCat: Yeah, I wanted Jinmay to have the ability to age. I wouldn't like it if I woke up one day to find my love interest suudenly twice as tall and twice as old as me.

jinmay-4-ever: Thanks. I like chill bumps.

suzyq85: Don't worry.

Voiletwis: Well, if you forgot what you were going to say, maybe it'll come back to you later.

monkyluvr and leavingyouforme: Yes, Otto is so cute!! And I find it very easy to type out his lines. That's another reason why I like him so much; what he says comes easily to me.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Reawaken them?" Gibson repeated. "Are you certain that's wise, Jiro? And even if it was, are you certain that's even possible?"

"Don't forget, Gibson, nothing's impossible for the Power Primate," Chiro reminded him.

"Yeah…" Sprx said with a thoughtful smile. "It even helped me get back to my senses, and I was hopelessly lost."

Nova smirked at him, reminding him not to give too much credit to the Power Primate.

Jinmay shrugged. "But how can we reawaken them?"

"During my mindmeld, one of them said something about a programming block," Antauri recalled. "Otto?"

The Green Monkey immediately walked up to the closest of the deactivated Monkeys, which happened to be Myst, and opened her helmet. Inside was an organic brain just like the others', so Otto had no trouble finding what he was looking for after he converted his hand into a light probe.

"Oh yeah, there it is," he said after a minute of searching. "It looks like it's got their ethical program severed from the rest of their higher cognitive functions."

Sprx slapped his head. "Speak monkey, Otto."

Mandarin glared at Sprx lightly. "They cannot determine for themselves what is right and wrong. That is how Brainiac controlled them so easily, because he is a power stronger than they. Jiro, if battle is all they are programmed to know, they may become violent if we reawaken them."

"That may be true, Mandarin," Antauri replied. "But I sense that their souls are hurt, nearly broken. The Power Primate can help them heal."

Mandarin hummed in thought and slowly nodded in agreement. "A valid point. I am, however, concerned for our safety as well as theirs. Jiro, I think the decision ultimately falls on you."

"Me?" Jiro gasped, suddenly feeling like a very bright and uncomfortable spotlight had shone on him.

"Yes, you."

As confident as Jiro was a few moments ago when he announced they had to reawaken them, he suddenly felt queasy at the thought of possibly heavy responsibility. "Why don't you make the decision, Mandarin? You're smarter than me, and you still can be a great leader."

Mandarin chuckled, honored to have such praise from him. But he shook his head. "No, my friend. I made that mistake already. As a follower, it is easy for me to swallow my pride. But as a leader, it is easy for my pride to swallow me. I know the difference between giving advice and taking orders. I have given you my advice, and I will take your orders."

Jiro was surprised. He felt brave enough when he had to save the Monkey Team from a burning, exploding laboratory. But right now, he felt like he couldn't look into the eyes of anyone except his father. And that's just what he did.

Chiro smiled, knowing what his son wanted. "You're big enough to make your own choices, son. I can't do it for you here."

Jiro blinked and looked again at the four deactivated monkeys. "If the program block is deleted, their systems will reboot, won't they?"

"Theoretically, yes, but there is no guarantee that the programming block can be deleted or that they will reawaken at all," Gibson answered.

"And the Power Primate will heal what's broken?"

Antauri nodded. "If their bodies are receptive to it. I imagine that they will be since they were created from us, but I cannot promise that."

Jiro stood still. Neither of those answers sounded very reassuring. But in his heart, he knew what was right. "…Let's reawaken them."

Otto nodded and, with Gibson's help, proceeded to carefully delete the programming blocks in each of the new Monkey's operating systems.

While they did that, Antauri explained to Jiro the positions everyone needed to be in for the awakening ceremony, as the Varon Mystics called it. When it was only one person receiving it (such as Sprx in the Pit of Doom), it was sufficient that the donors surrounded the one. But when more than one was receiving it at the same time, it was preferable that one person stood between the recipients to act as an epicenter while at least one donor for each recipient surrounded them all.

Jiro and Antauri counted the number of donors, including themselves. Jiro counted eight, but Antauri came up with a total of nine. (He had included Jinmay because, although she didn't have the Power Primate itself, she apparently had some kind of link with it that helped Chiro when he had been turned into a wraith once.) Nine was a perfect number; one could stand in the center while two donors could aid each recipient. The two agreed that Otto, Gibson, Nova, and Sprx should each be a donor for their respective counterparts.

The only difficulty was deciding who was going to be in the center position. Chiro wanted to volunteer because he had the strongest Power Primate, but Antauri informed him that the center position was dangerous, especially with so many donors. Chiro suddenly remembered when all five members of his team merged their Power Primate energies with his to defeat a huge blob of Chiro clones, and he remembered how painful it was to control the Power Primate on such a high level.

Antauri was about to announce that he would take the center position since he is the most knowledgeable about this ceremony and the most immune to pain, but Jiro quickly put in that he had not that much training in the Power Primate and had only basic control of it.

Upon hearing that, it became evident that Jiro should take the center position. Although the task would be somewhat harder since he would receive and refocus the Power Primate to four individuals instead of just focusing it to one, Jiro had such lack of understanding of the Power Primate that it would only be second nature for him to not accept so much of it at the same time and send it away from his body.

Soon, everyone was ready for the ceremony. Jiro stood in the middle with the four new Monkeys sitting around him. On the outside of the circle; Chiro and Nova stood close to Myst, Jinmay and Gibson to Espina, Antauri and Otto to Bruno, and Mandarin and Sprx to Tempest. Everyone on the outside of the circle stood with their arms crossed in front of their chests, but Jiro stood as tall as he could with his arms stretched apart.

The entire room had suddenly burst into a luminescent display of green flames as each one on the outside summoned their Power Primate; even Jinmay was somehow aglow, too. Jiro had never seen a prettier sight in his life. But he had only a moment to see it before the energy projected from each one, first touching a recipient, then reaching him.

He grunted in shock. This felt different than when Mandarin had reached out to his soul to bring him from death to life. That was powerful but gentle, like the feeling of a soft, warm blanket wrapping him head to toe. This was much more powerful and much less gentle, more like the sting of a cold body stepping into a bathtub full of steaming hot water. His body had to accept part of it, but his head was starting to swim.

His outstretched arms made it easier to refocus the Power Primate energy back to the four deactivated Monkeys, but that alone wasn't enough. His heart was beating so hard, he'd be surprised if no one heard it thumping or see it pounding. He was soaked with sweat in a matter of seconds. He could feel the heat all the way to his toes and fingertips, and it was making all of the fine hair on his arms and neck stand on end.

Finally, he could bear it no longer. With a final grunt, he exclaimed as loud as his lungs allowed, "_**Wake up**_!!" And with one more breath, he gave a long, harsh scream.

Four more screams followed.

A few moments later, it was over. The energy died down, and the room returned to its normal, metallic gray color. Jiro's scream stopped abruptly, and Jinmay had to enter the circle to catch him before he could fall.

"Jiro!" she gasped, holding him close to her chest. She began using her gloves to wipe off the sweat on his face.

"Kid!" Sprx exclaimed, running over to the pair. Hearing that had startled Chiro, because even after 15 years, he was still used to Sprx calling him that. "You okay, kid?"

"It…hurts…" the boy groaned rather heavily.

"Hurts?" Jinmay asked in concern, walking over to Gibson while Chiro also came. "What hurts?"

"It hurts to speak…"

"He'll be okay," Chiro quietly reassured Jinmay while Gibson began a scan. "I felt the same the first several times I tapped into my inner Primate. Jiro, this is something that will hurt. But when you get used to it, after you use it for a while, it won't hurt anymore."

"Hey, it's working!" Nova suddenly shouted, and everyone turned to see movement among the four new Monkeys. They were just twitches among the fingers, toes, and tails at first. But then it spread to theirs arms and legs, then to their bodies, until finally, each one lifted his or her head and white pupils flickered on within their glass eyes.

For a long while, there was silence and stillness. The four newly awakened Monkeys weren't sure what to make of their new surroundings, and everyone else didn't want to provoke any aggressiveness.

When the four new pair of eyes landed on their original counterparts, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"He's making us fight again!" Bruno growled, jumping to his feet.

Myst whimpered and wrapped her arms and tail around her knees. "I don't want to fight."

"Please remain calm," Antauri gently told them all.

"Yes," Mandarin agreed. "If you have no desire to fight, neither do we."

Tempest blinked his blue eyes. "Strange, we never met you two…nor you three." He directed the last part of his statement to Chiro, Jinmay, and Jiro.

Espina slowly got to her feet and approached the three humans. She suddenly began to giggle, a pretty but mischievous giggle. "Hey, look, these bigger bipeds don't have any tails. And they only have fur on the top of their heads." She began combing her fingers through Jiro's hair.

"Hey, quit it, you're messing it up," Jiro laughed, trying to push her away.

All four of them suddenly became still and stared at Jiro. The boy suddenly wondered if he had said something wrong and leaned even further against Jinmay's chest.

"You're…" Tempest began, awe lacing his voice. "I've never seen you, and yet…I know you. You're the one who called to us."

"Yes…" Myst continued. "I remember…you were in pain."

"I'm fine," Jiro insisted.

Bruno now approached Jiro and began to look over him. He gave Jinmay and Chiro brief examinations too, and finally asked, "What kind of monkeys are you?"

Chiro laughed lightly. "We're not monkeys. We're humans."

Mandarin looked over at Antauri. "It looks like we all have to explain our situations again."

* * *

The rest of the journey was spent getting to know the four new Monkeys and them getting to know the Hyperforce. They all agreed that the four should come with them to Shuggazoom. What they will do when they arrive was still uncertain, but at least they would be welcomed right along with the other Robot Monkeys. The befriending process also opened an opportunity for more training for Jiro, in which the four new arrivals often participated.

During Nova's combat training, Myst was found to be quite kind, gentle, and tenderhearted. That came as a big surprise considering how much power she had in her water cannons. Battling against simulations and non-sentient enemies was easy for her, but battling against opponents with a conscience was a challenge. Even practice battles were hard for her; she preferred healing to hurting.

Bruno and Otto became fast friends. Both were optimistic, hopeful, and cheerful. Bruno and Otto both found ways to encourage everyone else whenever any one of them felt down. Bruno wasn't clueless, however. He was realistic enough to recognize a bad situation when one arrives. But he wasn't pessimistic either; he knew that when knocked down, the only way to go is up.

Much to the surprise of all, Tempest kept to himself most of the time. He was quiet, but he wasn't shy. He knew when he was given orders and would obey them, but he was more of a loner than a team player. He preferred taking care of his own battles and earning his own merits.

Espina's personality blossomed quickly, much to Gibson's disapproval. Like a rose, she had a lovely façade, but hidden underneath the rose petals lay the rose thorns. She was mischievous, spontaneous, and unpredictable. She was a prankster who adored practical jokes, and she was willing to do anything for a laugh. But she does exercise restraint, she knows when enough is enough…or when told so.

Despite the differences in these four, there was one thing they all shared: wherever Jiro was, usually at least one of them wasn't too far behind. Ever since the awakening ceremony, the new family members felt close to Jiro for some strange reason. Chiro had especially noticed this, because it reminded him of when he first met the Monkey Team, after first entering the Super Robot and first feeling the Power Primate. All five of them had felt just as close to him as these four and Mandarin do to Jiro. And the closeness had worked both ways back then just the same as it did right now.

The days passed very quickly and very happily until finally, the day came when Shuggazoom and Ranger Seven came into view. Everyone huddled to the observation deck to peer out the massive window, almost as if staring at them would draw them closer to home. Even the four new Monkeys had an inner yearning for Shuggazoom that they could not yet explain.

There was a small crowd gathering around the border of the off-limits zone where the Super Robot had landed in years passed. Most of them were people who knew Chiro and Jiro and were waiting to see father and son reunited. Another reason why they had gathered was because this day happened to be the memorial holiday made in honor of the fallen heroes in the War Between the Living and the Dead, including (as the civilians believed) the Hyperforce.

But the excitement started to boil when Jinmay stepped out with Chiro and Jiro. A bigger crowd had formed before the Hyperforce emerged, and by the time the four new Monkeys emerged, the multitude had become a swarm of screams and cheers that reminded Chiro of the old days. The people had assembled to mourn the Monkey Team, and yet here they were, back from the dead and back home.

Mr. Gakslapper had never been so busy in his life. He had always participated in the memorial holiday in previous years (by not charging any of his customers for meals made on this one day each year) because the Hyperforce adored his Hover burgers, but he was now taking orders from three humans and ten Robot Monkeys on top of a flock of celebrating citizens. Old jokes that had long been silent were reawakened between Mr. Gakslapper and his customers, especially Otto.

A woman in her early 20s with long blonde hair in a ponytail walked up to Nova and gave her a sweet smile. At first, Nova didn't recognize her. But when the woman held up a holographic ice cream cone and reminded her of the curses cast from the Skeletal Circle, Nova remembered. This was the girl the Yellow Monkey once defended when the first curse, the curse of frogs, had been cast. The two exchanged a brief but delighted conversation.

Even B.T. and Glenny, who were still very good friends after all this time, joined with Chiro in celebrating the return of the Monkey Team. The two bachelors had long secretly respected the Hyperforce despite what they had shown when they were teenagers a few years older than Chiro.

After the official celebration was over and the citizens had gone back to their homes, Chiro brought everyone to what used to be the Pit of Doom and was now the Valley of Hope. Gibson was especially fascinated by how green and beautiful the place was. No one could have imagined such beauty and peace in a place that was once well known for despair and dread. At the bottom of the valley were several tombstones, marking the places where the fallen allies were buried and paid respects.

It pained the Monkey Team to see so many graves. They had called their allies to aid them, not to die for them. All of them were innocent in this fight and didn't have to be involved; each and every one of them had the right to refuse the fight, yet they accepted and paid the price for freedom.

Nova stood in front of Master Offay's headstone. She placed a fist in the palm of her other hand and gave a quick bow. "May you find peace at last, Master Offay," she said with a heavy sigh.

Otto looked left and right from Nekeeta's grave to Tiqudo's. The only thought in his mind was of the little kitten he had befriended while in the village of Kathori. He was certain now that little kitten was now a full-grown warrior cat and probably wouldn't recognize Otto, but the Green Monkey silently promised to visit Kathori one day soon and visit.

Gibson was on his knees in front of Suupa's tombstone. He had never met anyone in his life like the Blue Frog who was so much alike to him, and he felt like part of his soul had been taken away from him in knowing that Suupa was dead. He glanced around quickly, and when he was certain no one was watching, he activated one drill and hastily cut one more word in one corner of the metal, small enough to really not notice it until someone mentions it, "Garf".

Sprx sighed and blinked at Mobius Quint's grave. There were a lot of things that he did that infuriated Sprx, and the Red Monkey never really had the chance to apologize for it. Well, he did apologize, but that was before their monkey language could be interpreted for human ears. He quietly told himself to remember asking Antauri and Gibson to join him in flying a lost man formation air route to honor Quint.

Antauri floated solemnly in front of Captain Shuggazoom's grave. Though the former defender of the city had not taken place in the final battle against Skeleton King, he had valiantly protected the city from many evils before the concept of the Monkey Team even came to be. Antauri's body was originally requested to be the Captain's sidekick, but fate had predestined it to be so much more. He asked Chiro the cause for the Captain's death, and Chiro told him that the Captain was older and frailer than he had led the Hyperforce to believe; the news of the Monkey Team's supposed death was too much for him.

That night, everyone was in the Command Center; some of them sitting in the chairs, some on the floor, and Antauri and Mandarin floating in mid-air. All of them were soaking in everything that had happened to them that day. The four new Monkeys couldn't believe how easily they were accepted into the Shuggazoomian society. The Hyperforce was just content to be home at last. Jinmay smiled as she leaned on Chiro's shoulder, and Nova did the same for Sprx.

When Antauri asked what new evil might have taken Skeleton King's place, Chiro told them all that there was no evil attacking Shuggazoom.

"Oh, great," Nova groaned. "So what are we supposed to do with our lives now that the fight's over?" She looked over at Jiro. "After all, we still owe you for saving our lives."

Chiro smiled. "Actually, Mandarin and I have talked about this, and we've already got an idea that should have that covered. See, it's been only a couple of weeks since summer started, and Jiro has really only just started learning how to control the Power Primate. He could use you guys to help him."

Jiro gasped in delight at the thought that those who once taught his father could now teach him.

"And…" the father continued, "I had actually been planning for Jiro to be home-schooled when the summer's over. See, I've seen that school was too depressing for Jiro; even though his grades are good, no one was brave enough to be Jiro's friend knowing that I, his father, was the savior of the planet. Maybe you guys could tutor him."

Gibson's expression lit up. "Tutor your son? Oh, what an unequivocal, unparalleled honor!"

Jiro blushed, even though he didn't know the meanings of the really big words. "Dad, you don't really have to," he giggled.

Chiro chuckled and cuddled his son. "Yes, I do."

"But what about us?" Myst asked.

Espina nodded in agreement. "Yeah, what will we do now that we're here?"

Just then, the alarm blared. The half-asleep Otto bolted awake, and Sprx (much to Nova's agitation) sprung to his feet with an exasperated, "Now what?!"


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Thirteen's Reviews_…

mangalover248: If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, then don't worry; I planned it that way. At this point, things are going to be a little more on the obvious side.

NoRatCat: Thanks! I had a little bit of difficulty coming up with personalities that were similar to the original Monkeys but different, too.

jinmay-4-ever: Glad you noticed the mother-son love!

suzyq85: Yes, we all miss that our favorite blue frog. (gets a glare from Gibson)

almaltiempo: Actually, all of them will be Jiro's teachers. But Gibson is certainly happy about that!

OrangeChima: Yeah, that does remind our hero that it's been a long time. But it's all good.

leavingyouforme: There's always trouble when the Monkey Team's around to stop it. That's what they're there for, and that's what we're here for too, huh?

monkyluvr: Thanks!

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: LOL. Don't worry if you miss reviewing a chapter. It's still a good story with or without reviews.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

Gibson quickly approached the controls to the main monitor and typed feverishly. As the alarm turned off, the monitor activated, revealing Ranger Seven and an object approaching it.

"Oh no," he gasped when the scans discovered what the object was. "That's Brainiac. He's landing on Ranger Seven."

Everyone gathered behind him, each of them staring at a different section of the monitor.

"He must have followed us outside of sensor range while we were journeying back to Shuggazoom," Antauri said pensively.

Chiro nodded. "And it looks like he's landing where the moon prison used to be."

"You mean it's not a moon prison anymore?" Otto asked.

"Ever since that second incident with Gyrus Krinkle, all of the inmates there were transferred to other mental institutes to keep from causing Shuggazoom any trouble."

"But why is he landing on the moon prison?" asked Nova.

"Even though the moon prison is abandoned, the equipment there is still functional," Jiro answered. "We went there on a school field trip last year. I bet that with his lab destroyed, he'll use the prison as a new lab."

"Which means he's bringing war to Shuggazoom," Mandarin growled. "Jiro, I suggest we destroy him now while he is still weak and virtually defenseless."

"Wait a second," Otto interrupted. "There's too many of us."

"What do you mean, too many?" Sprx asked.

"Well, let's count heads. If Mandarin and Jiro are sticking together…"

Mandarin interrupted him with a nod. "And I swore that my first duty is to Jiro. I belong here, by his side."

Otto nodded in reply. "So that's two. Then, plus Chiro and Jinmay…that's four. Then the Monkey Team; that's nine. There's too many of us to pilot the Super Robot."

"Excuse me," Bruno said, quietly drawing attention to him and the three new Monkeys. "May I be so bold to speak?"

"Of course, Bruno," Antauri answered. "You are just as much a member of this family as we are."

Bruno nodded and cleared his throat. "Then, pardon my bluntness, but with all due respect, none of the nine of you know what you're dealing with. We do. We may not have had control of ourselves when he was our master, but deep within ourselves, we did have some sense of awareness. The whole time, we were watching…learning. We know what he is capable of doing. And I believe I speak on behalf of all four of us when I say that we wish to help prevent or undo such deeds."

Espina gave a slow nod. "We are not proud to call him our creator. He must be stopped at all costs."

"I'm with you there," Myst agreed. "I don't approve of the use of violence, but Brainiac will leave us with no option."

Tempest crossed his arms and looked down at the floor. "And if you won't let us fight by your side, we will be forced to fight Brainiac on our own."

Antauri slowly looked over at Jiro. "Jiro, may I speak with you privately for a moment?"

Jiro looked at Chiro first, who gave a nod of approval. He then looked at Mandarin, who gave him the same. Finally he looked at Antauri and nodded, and the two walked over to the far side of the room.

The Silver Monkey came close to Jiro and gently whispered, "I have long meditated on any reason why I too have not been replicated for Brainiac's dark deeds. For even though he could have used my technological blueprints on a purely organic body, he chose not to. I believe I now see the reason."

"What are you talking about?" Jiro softly asked.

"Let me ask you: how would you feel if our four new arrivals chose to fight Brainiac alone?"

Immediately, the boy answered, "I wouldn't like it one bit. I mean, I know that's their choice, but then I'll be worrying about them every day, worrying about where they go and what they do. Even though they know what they're up against, I'm…afraid for them."

Antauri nodded. "And although they know very little of you, they are willing to submit themselves to you, because they know in their hearts that they can trust you with their lives, the same as we have trusted your father. And have you not noticed? There are four of them, and added to you and Mandarin, it's a total of six. Neither too many nor too few to pilot the Super Robot. I think even Brainiac, without knowing it, became a vital part in this grand scheme."

Jiro blinked and gasped quietly. "You mean…Dad and Mom and you guys will leave us?"

"Not permanently. After all, you still have much training to cover, as does every one of our four new arrivals. And we agreed to be your tutors when the summer is over. But it has become clear to me that our role in history has ended. Though our purpose is to fight evil, our destiny was to destroy Skeleton King. I sense that your destiny lies against Brainiac."

The boy sighed, not feeling very confident at this moment.

Antauri placed a metallic hand on the boy's shoulder. "Your father had a difficult time when he was leader of the Hyperforce as well. And he didn't have anyone to support him through those times with the exception of us. Yet you will have more than your teammates who will give you support; you will have your father, your mother, and us. So even if you feel alone, remember that no Monkey Team member is ever alone."

Jiro smiled. He remembered that phrase coming twice in his father's history. He gave a small nod, and the pair rejoined the others. Chiro and Mandarin looked at the pair in slight anticipation for not knowing what they discussed, even though both had serious expressions on their faces.

After a short pause, Jiro looked up at all of the Robot Monkeys, though he addressed the new arrivals first. "Since you're already programmed with the basic skills, you won't need as much training as I do. All you'll need to know is how to pilot the Fist Rockets and the Foot Cruisers; Mandarin, I'm guessing you will want the Brain Scrambler since I'm already familiar with the Torso Tank."

Mandarin gave Jiro a small bow. "I will be honored with whatever position you give me."

Chiro could barely believe what he was hearing. "Son? … You're going to take over as leader of the Hyperforce?"

Jiro looked up at his father, feeling somewhat sheepish. "Well, it's just that…Antauri and the others are i_your_/i Monkey Team. I don't want to take that away from you. These guys, on the other hand, will be i_my_/i Monkey Team. … I…I hope you don't mind."

"Mind?" Chiro repeated. He knelt in front of his son and placed his large hands on the little shoulders. "Jiro…if only my father had been alive long enough to see me when I was leader of the Hyperforce. He would have been just as proud of me back then as I am of you now.

"I knew that you were something special, son. I just didn't completely realize how special. From the moment you first said 'Hyperforce, go", I knew that you were meant for a role like this."

Jiro's knees trembled slightly. "I know it's not going to be all guts and glory…"

Chiro chuckled. "You're right. It's not all guts and glory. Sometimes, the situation can be really nasty. And sometimes, you will feel so down that you will think you can't get up again. Don't ever think like that, whatever you do."

"I won't."

"And a few other words of advice," Chiro continued, a somewhat teasing smile on his face. "Don't insist on adopting a pet just because it's cute and friendly…"

Gibson smiled confidently, glad to know that Chiro was saying he should have listened to him.

"…Don't accept a gift from anyone, even on your birthday, unless the giver knows where it came from…"

"Hey, I said I was sorry, Chiro," Sprx interrupted with an embarrassed chuckle, knowing Chiro was referring to the first incident with Gyrus Krinkle.

"…Hover burgers are not a breakfast food…"

Otto pouted when he heard that, because he had to silently admit that he actually enjoyed Wonder Fun Meat World.

"…Oh, never call the other Monkeys furballs; that's a bad idea, especially when one is prone to temper tantrums…"

Nova couldn't help but snicker when she heard that second referral to the same battle with Krinkle.

"…Don't think too much of your abilities; believe me, if Mandarin can make half as good a point as Antauri does, you don't want to do that…"

Antauri smiled as he recalled the sparring session just before arriving on Nova's training planet Galaxia.

"…And, above all, if you happen to be cleaning the outside of the Super Robot and you see a pretty face on the streets, make sure you watch where you aim that spray gun before you shoot it."

Jinmay frowned and tapped one foot on the floor impatiently, though she was only pretending to be aggravated.

"Dad, stop it," Jiro gently chuckled. "I'm not a baby anymore, you know."

Chiro smiled. Now he knew how Sprx must have felt when he had said something similar to the Red Monkey shortly before the discovery of the Pit of Doom. "No," Chiro agreed. "You're not a baby anymore. You used to dream of Monkeys, and now you have Monkeys at your command. You used to dream of monsters, and now you have a chance to fight and defeat those monsters. You used to dream of battles and adventures, and now you will have many of them of various kinds. You're not a baby. You're a little hero. And every day, you are my hero."

* * *

Later in the day, most of the old Monkey Team were showing the new Robot Monkeys the Super Robot, and Mandarin and Antauri had begun talking with them about the Power Primate and how to use it. Only Chiro, Jinmay, Jiro, and Otto were still in the Command Center.

Otto screeched in surprise at what Jiro had just said. "What? You don't want me to repaint the inside of the cockpits?"

Jiro chuckled. "Thank you for offering, Otto, but I'd better pass. I thought it was cool that you guys matched your colors, but I've seen pictures of you guys in your cockpits. If it weren't for your body shapes and eye colors, I would've thought you guys were invisible in there. If I'm going to talk to someone, I'd rather have a full view."

Chiro laughed. "Yeah, it took my eyes a while to get used to seeing them in their cockpits."

"That reminds me," Jinmay spoke up. "Jiro, have you decided who goes where?"

Jiro nodded. "Yeah. It makes sense, and they wanted it that way, too. They're going to go where the last team went. Like, Bruno will take your Foot Crusher Cruiser, Otto, and Myst will have Nova's. Espina will go to Gibson's Fist Rocket, and Tempest will have Sprx's."

Otto's eyes went wide. "You mean Sprx is actually going to give up his Fist Rocket?"

Chiro smiled. "Yeah. I had to bribe him, though. … I ended up buying him his very own VZ3X Star Speeder to get him to leave the Fist Rocket."

"Oh, he'll love that," Otto cooed. "Still, there's no love like first love."

Jinmay grinned. "You can say that again, Otto."

Just then, the four heard a collective sound from one direction. They turned to the elevators to see everyone returning, though most of the elevators occupied two Monkeys at the same time.

"How can you get used to that?" Espina asked as they all stepped out. "I feel a little sick to my stomach."

Sprx almost laughed. "You will get used to it, especially if you want to avoid Gibson doing a check-up on you as long as possible."

"Sprx!" Gibson screeched, but Espina giggled at the joke.

"Just as a matter of curiosity," Tempest began quietly, "where are we going to bunk?"

"You can stay in our old quarters," Nova told him. "Since Chiro gave everything belonging to us to the Museum, moving in and decorating it to your tastes should be easy."

Mandarin looked at Nova in his surprise. "But where will you reside if they stay in your quarters?"

Chiro smiled. "No problem. You guys can live with me in the mansion."

Antauri looked up at Chiro, a certain admiration in his eyes. "Are you quite certain that is acceptable to you?"

Almost as if expecting this question, the young man grinned. "Hey, you guys did me a favor by letting me live with you fifteen years ago. So I'm calling it even by letting you live with me. There's plenty of empty rooms that can be used to suit your needs. Besides, I've missed the smell of laboratory chemicals…"

Gibson quietly gasped in delight.

"…the sound of buzzing workshop tools…"

Otto giggled.

"…the excitement of pounding training rooms…"

Nova grinned proudly.

"…the tranquility of silent meditation rooms…"

Antauri smiled.

"…and the joy of laughter throughout the entire mansion."

Sprx gave a thumbs-up. "How can we refuse an offer like that?"

* * *

Jiro sighed and flopped onto his bed, almost exhausted.

As busy as this day was, the next few days were going to be just as busy for the boy and his new team. The first team and Mandarin were in charge of teaching Jiro and the new Monkeys everything they needed to know. Although Mandarin would have preferred attacking Brainiac on Ranger Seven before the evil brain could establish a base there, Bruno raised a valid point: no one except the new Monkeys knew what they were up against.

Jiro was almost snuggled in his bed when his door opened and Chiro stepped in.

"Dad?" Jiro asked, surprised. "I thought you were going back to the house and spend the night there."

"I will," Chiro chuckled as he sat on one edge of the bed. "But first, I think you need to hear one more bedtime story before I tuck you in."

Jiro's face beamed, and he sat up eagerly.

Chiro smiled and started, "While exploring the outskirts of the city, I discovered an abandoned Super Robot. It was then my life was transformed by the mysterious Power Primate. The Robot Monkeys were awakened, and I, Chiro, made their leader. Our quest was to save Shuggazoom City from the evils of the Skeleton King."

Jiro smiled. He had heard this introduction before and prepared himself to hear the familiar but exciting tale.

Instead, however, Chiro continued, "Today, that tradition continues. While my son had been kidnapped, he discovered the abandoned laboratory where the Robot Monkeys were created. It was then his life was similarly transformed by the same Power Primate. New Robot Monkeys were reawakened, and he, Jiro, made their leader. Their quest is to save Shuggazoom City from the evils of Brainiac."

"And what happens next?" Jiro asked, excited and afraid at the same time.

"What happens next…is up to you," Chiro answered, kissing his son's forehead. "Ever since you were in your cradle, I've told you my stories. But you write your own. My stories are over. Yours have just begun."

Jiro sighed happily and relaxed in his bed.

"But I don't want you to forget," Chiro continued. "If you're in a really bad situation and you need help, you know you can call on us."

"Of course, Dad."

"Just don't ask for help every time something goes wrong. There are some things you have to learn to do on your own."

Jiro nodded.

"Okay, Jiro. Remember, after breakfast tomorrow, Sprx will be here to train you how to operate the Torso Tank while the rest of us teach our new friends the Power Primate."

"All right, Dad."

"I love you, little hero."

"I love you, big hero."

Chiro slowly stepped out of his old room and closed the door behind him. He couldn't help but sniffle and cry a little in his sentimental state. He could remember when Jiro was small enough to be held in the crook of one arm while he fed him a warm bottle of milk formula.

But there was still some part of him that was afraid. What kinds of trials would Jiro go through? Would his son have as much trouble tapping into the inner Primate as he did? How many close encounters to death will the four Monkeys go through? Will Mandarin end up making a similar sacrifice as Antauri did in his final moments as the Black Monkey?

Once again, Chiro had to silently tell himself to calm down. Tomorrow is another day.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: _Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!_ and all characters and events related to them are not mine; they are property of Jetix Animation Concepts and Ciro Nieli.

* * *

_In Response to Chapter Fourteen's Reviews_…

NoRatCat: Yes, I felt linking the past with the present was essential to the story, so I thought the best way to do that was advising Jiro on what mistakes not to make.

jinmay-4-ever: I'm excited that you're excited!

chuchi-chan: Well, I'm writing this story by permission of another fan who originally came up with the idea, though she's told me a lot that what I've written is far better than what she would have. Sorry if this stole your ideas. But I'm glad you like it.

Emerald Shapeshifter 777: Oh, you guys have to stop showering me with flattery, even if it is true. But I'm glad you're all enjoying this.

monkyluvr: You know, your excitement about my stories kind of remind me of another author here: Crystal Persian. Except she would type her reviews in all caps like she was squealing with thrill. Sorry to say I'm not planning on a sequel, but I am planning on opening an RP at a forum that'll follow this story soon. And I will continue writing on my Hayley Cometra series before too long.

4Evermonkeyfan: Don't worry about lagging behind in reviewing. I know you've been busy. I doubt there's anyone here who isn't from time to time, especially in the time span in which I've been typing this. Whew, this is the longest story I've ever written…

And to everyone else who reviewed, thank you very much for your support!

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

"Easy, Jiro," Mandarin gently advised, staying behind the boy on the starboard (right) side of the Brain Scrambler. "Easy. Keep flight orientation at the steady level."

"I'm trying," the ten-year-old grunted as he straightened the jerk that had startled him. "But the wind is up today, and it's hard. And my arms hurt."

Sprx leaned over from his position behind Jiro and to the port (left) side, then grinned softly. "Your grip is too tight," he chuckled lightly. "Relax. Keep your hands on the controls, your fingers on the buttons, but don't waste precious muscle power outside of battle unless you need to make a turn or keep the ship steady. Its works better in the long run."

"Why are we in the Brain Scrambler, anyway? I thought Dad said I was going to train in the Torso Tank."

Mandarin smiled. "Avionic tactics are almost identical on both ships, but training in the Torso Tank would require the entire Super Robot to disengage and disassemble. But the Brain Scrambler and the Fist Rockets can detach while the Super Robot is still docked. That makes it more convenient for everyone else."

Jiro felt another jerk, waking up his attention as he began to straighten the ship. He found it easier as he did because he had done as Sprx instructed; he relaxed his arms in those few seconds that Mandarin was talking, and the rest made it smoother.

Sprx had noticed the smile of realization on Jiro's face and grinned proudly. "You're doing great, Kid."

The boy hesitated. "Sprx, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Kid. What's up?"

Jiro paused again. "_That_ is. Why do you keep calling me 'Kid'?"

Sprx blinked in surprise. "Well…you _are_ a kid."

"Yeah, but that's not the point. You used to give Dad that nickname. And now you're using it to refer to me."

With a shrug, Sprx began to reply, "Well, your dad said he's not a kid anymore…"

"But that's not the point, Sprx," Jiro interrupted, looking at him.

"Jiro, don't stray your sight from the monitors," Mandarin quickly told him.

The boy quickly looked at the monitor in front of him and immediately made a turn. It was a smooth enough and wide enough to turn to avoid crashing into a skyscraper without the sudden jerk of movement. When Jiro was clear of obstacles and had ascended a little to avoid more, he turned his attention back to Sprx again. "The point is, when you first called me that, I noticed Dad looked a little upset. I think it made him feel like I was taking his place."

The Red Monkey hesitated, realizing what Jiro meant. "Oh, yeah… I guess I did do that, didn't I? Huh, well, I sometimes have a tendency to do that: say something that'll offend people without realizing it."

"You think it'll be all right with you if you keep Dad's nickname and give me something else?" Jiro asked.

"Well, sure, but what would you like me to call you?"

Jiro thought about it for a couple of minutes, then smiled. "How about Buddy?"

"As long as you don't expect me to call you that, too," Mandarin replied.

All three of them laughed at the joke.

* * *

At the Super Robot, the usual goings-on that had long been silent within those sacred walls began again.

In the Sick Bay, Gibson had entered to replace the medical books that he had kept here in the past for references. This was his third trip doing so, and he was somewhat surprised to find someone else in the Sick Bay, reading one of those he had brought before.

"Myst?"

The Purple Robot Monkey looked up from the book and began to close it shyly. "Oh, Gibson. I'm sorry. I was just in here to familiarize myself with the equipment, and when I saw this book—"

"No, Myst, it's all right," Gibson politely interrupted. "I apologize for disturbing you. Please, continue reading if you wish. I won't be in here long."

Slowly, Myst smiled in reply and reopened the book, spending a couple of seconds finding the place she had left off.

"May I inquire something of you?" Gibson asked.

"Yes, of course," she replied.

He hesitated, not sure if the topic was going to be disturbing for her. "I have spent last night thinking about the four of you. And as I thought, my thoughts reflected on your names. How did Brainiac come up with a name like Myst?"

She slowly lowered the book, but the expression on her face wasn't a disturbed one. In fact, she looked a little impassive. "Actually, the name he gave me is Mystique. I'm sure Nova told you about the time I almost broke through his programming after we fought? There were a couple other times before hand when I became close to breaking through, and the first time I broke through was when he was giving me my name. He was so surprised that he had stopped in mid-sentence; all that came out was 'Myst' when he meant to say 'Mystique'. For a long while, I wouldn't believe when he told me my real name."

"How quite queer," Gibson commented.

"True," Myst replied. "I don't think much of the name Mystique, but if others call me that, I'll answer to it."

Gibson hummed in thought as he walked to the bookshelf he was filling. He pulled a chair in front of it since he had already filled the bottom shelves and would rather not waste precious fuel from his rocketpack. He took the books, one by one, and gently placed them onto one of the higher shelves.

When he was done with his first armload, he jumped off to get his second armload. But the jump made a slight tremor that shook the last book he put up. It trembled and fell, landing on his tail. It was a slightly heavy book, and the unexpected weight on his sensitive tail made him screech.

Myst immediately looked up and closed the book she was reading. She ran up to him and removed the book. Then, and how surprised Gibson was, she gingerly picked up his tail and examined it. "Well, the metal protected the mechanical tip of your tail, but you've got some bruises showing up already," she said as she pushed back the blue strands of fur to reveal some purple patches on his skin. "I'll have to grab some ice cubes in a bag and…"

Then she suddenly realized what she was doing and released his tail. "Sorry! I didn't mean to—"

"Don't worry about it," Gibson interrupted. "I hadn't realized you are so well versed in medical practices."

A bright red color flushed all over her cheeks. "I prefer healing over hurting."

"Well, what I meant, Myst, was that Nova didn't seem so keen on medical practices."

Myst then smiled, her blush disappearing. "Well, the four of us are not your clones any more than Jiro is Chiro's. We have our differences that set us apart. That is why Brainiac called us your replicas."

Gibson nodded in understanding.

Myst began edging towards the door. "Well, I'd better go get that ice."

* * *

Otto hummed happily as he looked around his old workshop. Though there was nothing in here now since Chiro had given everything to the museum, he could just close his eyes and remember where every invention, complete or not, and where every tool and toolbox lay. A good majority of those inventions were gadgets that no one had ever seen. Yes, even though he himself had not seen them yet after fifteen years, he remembered every one and each of their purposes…

"Boo!"

The Green Monkey screeched and jumped, then turned around as someone snickered.

"Oh, Espina, don't scare me like that," he panted, putting a hand on his chest where his heart was.

"Sorry," she gasped, the kind of gasp made when someone is trying to keep from laughing even more.

Otto pouted slightly when some spurts of laughter exploded from her, but soon she managed to calm herself down.

"Actually, Otto, I was hoping I could find you here," she stated. "I wanted to ask your permission to use something that belonged to you."

"Well, sure, Espina," he grinned in reply, already forgetting that she had scared him just moments ago. "What is it?"

"Your workshop."

Otto scratched his head. "Huh? What do you need a workshop for? Are you handy with tools?"

But Espina shook her head. "Nope. I want a big space to put together a greenhouse."

Confused again, he looked down at his green fur.

She giggled and continued, "No, no, not a green house. A greenhouse. A place where you raise flowers and plants."

"Oh."

"See, I'd really like a big space so I can keep a variety of things. I've heard about aromatherapy and cooking with herbs and stuff like that, and I've always loved plants."

Otto hummed in thought. "How could you have loved plants? Your whole life was spent on a planet that had basically nothing but metal."

Espina's smile faded a little, though not completely. "Well, yeah…I guess that's true. But maybe that's the reason why I love plants so much. Even if I hadn't been his slave, life there would have been pretty dull since the four of us were the only things with real color."

"Oh, never thought of it that way," Otto admitted.

Her smile returned to its full length. "So it's all right with you?"

"Well, of course it's all right! The Super Robot's your home now! … Just make sure you take real good care of it."

Espina snickered. "No problem."

* * *

"Oh, sorry, Bruno," Nova said when she saw he didn't get up after knocking him down. She offered him her hand, which he accepted and allowed her to pull him back to his feet. "I didn't hit you hard, did I?"

"No, no, it was just unexpected, that's all," the Brown Monkey replied as he gently rubbed his hip. "I never expected you to pack that kind of punch."

Nova chuckled at the joke. "Maybe we should take a brief break."

"Sure."

The two sighed as they sat near the wall opposite of the colored elevators and relaxed.

"Bruno, I'd like to tell you something," Nova suddenly said after a couple of minutes of serene silence.

Curious, Bruno looked over at her. Nova considered her words carefully; she, like everyone else on the first Monkey Team, knew that this was a delicate subject for the second Monkey Team.

"That little speech you made yesterday was really inspiring. You know, about how you and the other three felt about fighting Brainiac. I never would've thought you were…created from Otto's blueprints."

"Well, what makes you say that?" Bruno asked.

"Well, Otto can be inspiring, but he never did anything inspiring in a leader-like tone like you did."

Bruno shrugged. "I guess you don't need a leader-like personality to inspire others. … Hey, Nova, you're the last team's third in command, aren't you?"

"Yep, I am."

"Just curious: how did the team's only female get that position? … Not that I have anything against females…"

Nova chuckled. "No offense taken. I guess all I did was keep a cool head while Sprx and Gibson…they were arguing over the command position when both Chiro and Antauri were out of action…they were butting heads a lot."

"You kept a cool head?" Bruno repeated. "I thought you were the one with the power of fire."

She giggled again. "You've got Otto's sense of humor, though."

He smiled in reply. "One needs to have a sense of humor to lift others up when they feel down. Laughter is a good medicine, after all."

"The best," Nova agreed. "Well, shall we spar again?"

"Sure. I can handle a little cramp in my side."

* * *

Antauri floated down the hallways, making his way to the kitchen to help Chiro and Jinmay with making lunch, when he found Tempest leaning against one of the walls. The Gray Monkey's cyan blue eyes were closed, his arms were folded in front of his chest, one leg was crossed in front of the other, and he had a frown on his face.

"Tempest," he softly called his name, hoping not to startle him. "Are you all right?"

Slowly, Tempest opened his eyes and looked at the Silver Monkey. "Yes, I'm fine," he answered quietly. "I was just thinking."

Antauri slowly nodded, the kind of nod one would give when not satisfied with an answer.

Tempest groaned lightly, then silently hoped Antauri didn't hear the groan. He uncrossed his leg and stood straight. "Antauri, are you certain about this? We are trusting our fate to a young boy we barely know. Logically speaking, a young boy cannot carry the fate of an entire world on his shoulders."

Antauri gave a small sigh. "I once had my doubts about Chiro's abilities," he admitted. "Chiro had weaknesses that could easily be exploited, and in some cases, they _were_ exploited. In those cases, they had wounded his thoughts and emotions so deeply that he believed, for a few moments, that he couldn't trust them anymore."

Tempest stood in silence. This didn't sound very reassuring to him.

Then, Antauri cracked a small smile. "But when Chiro discovered that he wasn't alone, that he had us supporting him and backing him up, he found the fate of an entire world easier to bear on his shoulders. He may have been our Chosen One, but he couldn't do everything alone. He needed us.

"In the same way, Tempest, Jiro can't do everything by himself. He needs you to support him, to back him up, and most importantly, to help him realize that he is not alone. He needs you, Espina, Bruno, Myst, and Mandarin."

Tempest sighed. "I'm not sure. Brainiac is a force to be reckoned with."

"I never said that he wasn't," Antauri replied. "The Skeleton King was also a force to be reckoned with. We have suffered our hardships. And I am certain that each of you will suffer your own hardships. But that is the interesting thing about working as a team.

"Look at it this way, Tempest: a string by itself doesn't support whatever it is holding very well, and when it weakens, the weight it supports causes it to break. But a rope consisting of several strings that are intertwined and braided together is much stronger than a string by itself, and when one string weakens, the other strings work together to keep it from breaking."

The expression on Tempest's face brightened a little. It wasn't very much, but this metaphor made sense to him. And he was right. Jiro can accomplish the impossible with the proper help. After all, the very same ten-year-old boy reawakened Mandarin's goodness and reawakened their own souls.

* * *

Lunch was interrupted when the alarm rang. Normally, only six needed to respond to this and find out the cause. But this time, with the new team adjusting to their new routines, a total of thirteen came down those elevators and looked at the main monitor.

"Report," Jiro ordered.

Mandarin typed on the keyboard, magnifying the image. "It looks like a small army of mechanized soldiers departing from Ranger Seven and en route to Shuggazoom City."

"Drones," Bruno said grimly.

"What?" a confused Jinmay asked.

"He's right," Espina replied. "I recognize the design. Definitely Brainiac's Drone soldiers."

"We have to be careful around them," Myst warned. "They're bad enough by themselves, but they can combine into more powerful fighting machines!"

"They sound pleasant…" Jiro sarcastically remarked.

"Oh, yeah, they are," Tempest agreed with his own sarcasm.

Mandarin looked up at Jiro. "What are your orders?"

Jiro sighed and looked at the monitor, staring at the Drones fast approaching. He then looked up at his father.

Chiro was a little surprised at seeing the look in Jiro's green eyes. He wondered if his Monkey Team saw the same look in his eyes as he was now seeing in his son's.

"You guys better strap yourselves in," Jiro told his father.

Chiro grinned and nodded, motioning for everyone to get into their command chairs.

Jiro then regarded his team. "Monkeys, Mobilize!"

With five nods from his team, Jiro led them to the elevators. From right to left, the order they entered and shot into their cockpits was Mandarin, Bruno, Jiro, Espina, Myst, and Tempest.

It felt a little awkward for the first Monkey Team when the speakers activated to announce the individual cockpits being manned as, one by one, they prepared for battle.

"Foot Crusher Cruiser Six, **go**!" Myst shouted from Nova's vehicle.

"Foot Crusher Cruiser Five, **go**!" Bruno's voice came from Otto's.

"Fist Rocket Four, **go**!" said Espina from Gibson's cockpit.

"Fist Rocket Three, **go**!" Tempest announced from Sprx's.

"Brain Scrambler Pilot Two, **go**!" Mandarin shouted.

"Torso Tank Driver One, **go**!" exclaimed Jiro. "Super…"

"…Robot…"

"…Monkey…"

"…Team…"

"…Hyper…"

"…Force…"

"**Go**!"

A feeling of pride swelled within Chiro and the Monkey Team. Fifteen years after the War Between the Living and the Dead, the war against evil has resumed, and a new age has begun.


End file.
